


Detours

by DontMindMeDear (JustANerd)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Asahi is the personified definition of a crybaby, Awkwardness, But it's there, Can you believe I forgot that tag?, Fluff, Humour, Low-key thirsty Asahi, M/M, Makki doesn't, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Ok this is starting far more dark than I initially expected or had planned, One-Sided Love, Yaku is a good friend, and Tanaka and Noya trying to be helpful, and Yahaba is his adopted mom, and awkward Asahi, coffee shop AU, drunk Suga's mean I'm sorry, drunk suga, it's getting better I promise, just in case you're wondering about the pronouns, like very low-key, pinning, there will be lots of fluff, transgirl Suga
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2018-10-04 16:38:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10283330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustANerd/pseuds/DontMindMeDear
Summary: "Azumane-san? Excuse me for asking, but what are you doing under the counter? Aren't you supposed to take the order from our new customer?" Two pairs of light brown eyes stared at Asahi as he tried to hide his huge self under said counter in the back of their kitchen. One pair was politely blank with slight worry creasing their brows. The other seemed bored. Had he not been in a state close to panic, Asahi might have noticed the refreshed mischief sparkling in them."I-I can't go out there!" Despite his voice having gained one or two octaves, it was barely more than a whisper.The two pairs of eyes met once more in confused wonder. Again it was the cook who dared to inquire for more explanation. "And why not?""B-b-because i-it's him!""...who?""D-Daichi!"





	1. Derailed

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SecretMaker](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretMaker/gifts).



> Hey, Sorry it took so long! (And then it's not even completed, eep!) I still hope that you'll like it!  
> I hope I can upload the rest somewhen this week, though I don't know when yet. (It's Currently 'Attack on Family' at my place and it turned out to be more difficult as initially thought to find matching schedules with my beta reader because we've completely different time zones, but now I'm just rambling so I better stop now before embarrassing myself even more.)
> 
> ANYWAY!! PLEASE ENJOY!! (I can promise you there's far more to come!)

“And, d’ya remember that one time when Taka forgot his locker code?” Reboant laughter erupted at their table.

"Of course I remember," one of their, now former, middle blocker esclaimed, just as their former libero added "There's no way I could ever forget _that_ image!" with boisterous laughter.

“It wasn’t my fault! Rin had exchanged our locks,” a red-faced Taka tried to defend himself, but barely anyone took note of it as they were too busy trying to catch their breaths. Only Hajime, who sat right next to Taka, responded with a “that’s whatcha get for giving your code to others” and ruffled his former teammate's hair. Taka mumbled something indignantly in return, but his voice was swallowed by Rin’s, who was shouting as if he was talking to someone across the room instead of across the table.

“But you know what was even better than Taka having to go to our coaches in his shorts?! The pepper and chili powder in Hajime’s water bottle!” Another round of barking laughter erupted. Even Hajime, the victim of that one incident, wasn’t completely unaffected by it. His red cheeks and the dazed look in his eyes told stories of how much he must’ve had drunk in these last couple hours. Not that anyone of their round of friends, classmates and former teammates was in any different condition. Even Daichi himself had his own problems of keeping his eyes open and his mind focused on their conversation as the alcohol in his veins slowed down his thoughts. So he wasn’t surprised at all when Hajime, who’s by now known for having a fickle temper at times, was smirking lazily at Shintarou, the person everyone thought to be the culprit of the incident that had taught everyone in their year that it’s better for their own sakes not to mess too much with their usually motherly friend.

What most didn’t know, what even Shintarou after thorough, careful research didn’t find out was who truly was responsible for Hajime's switch of reputation. Daichi, though, Daichi knew the truth. He knew it just all too well and far better than anyone else. But since Shintaro didn’t seem to suffer from any trauma or anything similar after the incident, Daichi preferred to keep the truth between himself and the real culprit. That didn’t mean that Shintarou was completely free of consequences, like having to deal with Hajime’s grudge for a while, but considering how he liked to brag about the incident whenever Hajime wasn’t within hearing range was more than enough evidence for Daichi that the assumed culprit liked the new attention he got.

Just as he thought about it, the devil herself decided to appear. “Ahh, I‘m so tired!” The bright voice cut through Daichi’s alcohol-induced daze as easy as a meat knife through butter. Showing not the slightest hesitation, Daichi turned away from the conversation he’d with his former classmates and towards the familiar voice above him, just in time to see a flash of silver pass his sight, soon followed by a just as familiar weight leaning heavily against his side. The beer in his half-filled glass swapped dangerously as the added body weight crushed Daichi’s fragile, drunken balance, almost causing him to fall over. Daichi grunted disgruntledly, but before he could voice anything else, there was an exhausted sigh in his ear, warm breath against his skin, halting his blurry thoughts. “Why’d they’ve to hold the ceremony s’early in the morning? Couldn’t they’ve done it somewhen during the afternoon? We’d to do more than enough for this day, so couldn’t they’ve shown at least some pity towards us? Sadists; all of them!” The words were slurred, their meaning soon lost in the depth of Daichi’s drunken mind, yet he chuckled at his friend’s complaints. The same complaints which she’d uttered several times since last night when it became obvious that they’d have to attend their graduation ceremony with less than six hours of sleep. Suga's never been one to deal well with less than ten hours of sleep and for Daichi, who’d never been a fan of big changes, it’s been an as comforting as amusing, unchanging factor since they’d become roommates four years ago. “Don’t laugh at me, Dai-chan. That’s just mean.” Suga turned around and suddenly Daichi’s view was obstructed by dark brown orbs, brightened by sparkling caramel-colored stars. Daichi momentarily jerked away. The arm he used to support the two of them shook minutely as he needed a moment to orientate himself again. It took him a bit to realize that Suga’s head didn’t rest against his shoulder anymore. As her face with the prominent pout was now turned towards Daichi, Daichi’s heart was pounding in his throat.

_Sawamura Daichi, you’re a weak man,_ Daichi thought as he stared at Suga with a fond smile. “Sorry.” He didn’t remember when he’d put his glass down, but when he ran his hand through soft, silver angel hair, there was nothing to stop him from doing so. Suga closed her eyes, humming contently as she leaned into the touch and Daichi continued patting the soft locks. He watched intently, almost like hypnotized as his calloused, tan fingers disappeared under the shiny, light hair, following the fine line where her hair parted. His eyelids felt heavier and heavier with every brush. It would have been easy for Daichi to fall asleep like that, with this special person, who’s so dear to him, curled up warmly in his arms and his friends, as well as former classmates, talking and laughter like low whisper in the background of their little moment, but then Suga raised her voice one more time, shaking Daichi out of his sleepy trance.

“Ne, Daichi, did you know? Now that we’ve graduated, people have expectations for us. Being employed in stable jobs, getting engaged and marrying the following year and finally having a bunch of kids and all that family stuff.” Daichi chuckled lowly, the sound muffled by Suga’s hair as he pulled the smaller of the two closer to his chest with a warm feeling spreading in his chest. All these things Suga named were things Daichi hadn’t just heard himself more than once, mostly from his mother and grandparents, but were things he wished for himself as well. A stable life, that’s what he wanted. Surprises and excitement were fine as well, but Daichi’s the kind of man who preferred those in small doses. He liked knowing what to expect in life, having a known goal to work towards. The thrill, the fear, of not knowing what would happen was something he’d rather keep out of his own personal life.  

A stable job, married to the love of his life, two children. Daichi smiled at the thought. “Is that so. Sounds nice, doesn’t it. A big garden with a dog, a house full of child laughter and tiny footsteps pattering over the wooden floor…”

Suga leaned away from Daichi just enough to look into his eyes with a tender smile while rubbing a warm hand along Daichi’s biceps. “I know. This all sounds so great. Like the perfect dream family that everyone wishes to be.” Her hand doesn’t stop in its movements, her voice doesn’t falter, doesn’t lose its kind tone. What made cold shivers run down Daichi’s spine, what made the once happy, drunken daze seem like something suffocating and confusing, was the sudden dark veil covering the sparks in those bright brown eyes Daichi held so dear. “But you know, Dai-chan … I have been thinking.”

Daichi’s mouth felt dry. His tongue felt heavy and numb, not unlike a sponge. He tried to swallow his bad feeling but had only mild success. “About what?”

Suga glanced towards their group of friends. Was she hesitating? Was she overthinking her next words? Daichi wasn’t sure. His mind occupied by a heavy fog of confusion. “Do you remember Oikawa?”

Daichi wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it wasn't this. “Oikawa Tooru? Hajime’s best friend?” Following a hunch, Daichi tilted his head to follow Suga’s line of sight. He wasn’t surprised to see that it’s indeed Hajime, once their rival in volleyball and now their friend from University, Suga’d been looking at.

Exclaiming with a sudden cheerfulness, Suga poked Daichi’s nose. “Right, that one!”

Jerking away from the toothily smiling Suga, Daichi grumbled confused “what about him” and rubbed his nose after having been painfully reminded that Suga never remembered to control his strength when she got tipsy. Something about Suga’s bright smile was strange, but he couldn’t really tell what exactly was so strange about it.

“D’you remember? Hajime’d said he’d that injury during the spring of our third year and he’d to drop out of Tokyo University because he couldn’t finance it without his sport scholarship.” Daichi had no idea where Suga was going with this.

“Yes?”

“You remember the last time we saw him? At Hajime's house? How he had gotten all fat and tired looking and pathetic and-”

“Suga, that's rude.” Daichi frowned disapprovingly at Suga who simply rolled her eyes at him in return.

“But true.” Daichi bit on his lower lip. He wasn’t sure himself whether it was to keep his exhausted ‘old man’ sigh in as Suga dubbed it, to subdue his urge to smile at Suga’s rudeness or whether it’s to distract himself from the shadow of a nearing headache. Maybe it was all of these things at once.

“Still, you shouldn’t talk about him like that behind his back. You know how awful that time must've been for him.”

“Fine! Then I’ll just tell him directly the next time I see him,” Suga exclaimed, despite Daichi’s attempt at scolding her, with yet another eye roll.

Now Daichi did indeed sigh. He was simply too tired to deal with Suga's childish, drunken shenanigans right now. “Please don’t. It’s almost been two years since we last saw him. I'm certain he changed a lot since that time. It’s just going to hurt him when you bring up old stuff.”

”Daichi! First of all,-” Suga held one finger up in front of Daichi, causing him to squint his eyes as he tried to focus on the far too close hand- “it’s been _one year and a half_! Also,-” Suga lowered her hand only to smack it on the table with a bang loud enough to shortly attract the attention of some of their former classmates who happened to sit close to them- “you don’t know that!”

“I said almost!”

“Whatever, don’t be picky now.” As much as Daichi adored Suga, his patience was running thin when faced with her pettiness.

“Wha- Suga, what I meant to say wa-”

“Shush now, I have something to say!” Daichi groaned as he pressed his fingertips against his temples, trying to soothe his throbbing headache that had become very noticeable. “Despite what happened, I bet he is all happy and shiny now, with a new goal and lover and on his best way to become all famous and stuff.”

“I would be glad for him if that’s the case. Although, since Hajime hasn’t complained about him lately, he really must be doing better." Momentarily stuck in his thoughts, Daichi glanced once more towards Hajime, but as soon as he heard the bell like giggling next that had followed his words his mind was back on track. "Still, Suga, you really shouldn’t start assuming things without knowing all the details.”

“It’s Oikawa Tooru! He could go abroad without money and without knowledge of the native language and he would still come out successful and strong and on top! He’s _that_ kind of person, Daichi!” Suga’s voice grew progressively louder with his words and the louder it got, the more prominent became Daichi’s headache. If this talk didn’t come to an end soon, Daichi really would lose his patience with her.

Massaging his temples, Daichi grabbed his last straw of hope. “Can’t you just tell me what you want to say?”

“What I’m saying is, he lost what’s most important to him and suffered, greatly, but he got back to his feet! ‘s on his way to a new future, a new goal, maybe one that fulfills him even more than the one he’d before!” Daichi didn’t know how this had anything to do with him. What he knew though was that Suga’s words didn’t seem to mean anything good.

“...And?”

“...I’ve been thinking. What if he isn’t the only one who can do that? What if there’s more out there? Not just for him, but for everyone! Something like a second, better choice. A chance to gain something very precious, but which we’re unable to see, because of all the things that make up our current life. Something you’re unable to see, until everything you used to value is gone, leaving you empty and aimless and pathetic until fate pushes you head first into it?!”

Suga’s passionate words left Daichi’s head buzzing and dizzy. He couldn’t find any tangible meaning in them, but they left a shallow bitterness in his own mouth and a sinking feeling in his stomach. “... and you want to say that...?”

“That something like that might be out there for us, too! Something that’s so much more than what we’ve now, something we wouldn’t even have ever considered before!”

“S-Suga! Wha-” Dread constricted his throat, forcing him to swallow and force his empty mind to come up with something sensical first, before trying to speak again. “Suga, do you mean to say tha-”

“Daichi! Let’s break up!"

 

 

* * *

 

 

“... and with that, gentleman, our lecture is over for today. Don’t forget the test next week. The content will be important for your final exams as well, so you might want to look once more over today’s charts.” Just as Daichi’s lecturer, a small man in his mid-fifties with a noticeable blank spot at the back of his head, finished giving his advice, the school bell rang, signaling the end of their class. Heaving a tired sigh, Daichi put his textbooks and pencils back into his backpack, before letting his gaze rest for a short moment on his light haired professor. Usually, Daichi would stay behind after his classes to go once more over one or two of the presented charts to discuss some of the crime rates he thought of as especially worrisome with his prof. Today, though, he might not be able to do that. Seeing as their exams, which would end their first semester at the police academy, were coming closer, even their not so responsible recruits were becoming more attentive. If Daichi didn’t want to spend his lunch break at the academy’s not so renowned cafeteria, instead of at one of the countless restaurants and cafés that were easily accessible with his car, a present from his parents for his graduation, then he’d have to leave without asking his questions today. He made a mental note of writing his questions down and going to his prof’s consultation hours somewhen next week as he lifted his backpack onto his back. Daichi told his classmates a quick “see you later” and left the grey-colored classroom with slight worry for his final exams. 

Daichi had intended to only fleetingly greet the few acquaintances he’d made since the start of the semester and rather hurry to his car than to waste his time with catching up on lectures and stuff. But just as he was leaving the building, the parking slots already in clear sight, a voice resounded from right next to him. Since they were calling his name Daichi automatically came to an abrupt halt and turned towards whoever had called him. “Hey, it’s been a while. How are you doing?” Daichi bit back the disappointed sigh that threatened to escape him and focused on the smaller man with a, hopefully, friendly smile.

“Hi, Yaku. I’m good. What about you?” Daichi tried to keep his voice steady and leveled, didn’t hesitate to make eye contact while still making sure not to stare. He knew it would be a difficult task - Yaku wasn’t the best in their shared class in “Criminal Profiling I” without any reason - but he would at least try. Surprisingly enough it worked quite well and for a while, they were able to hold a conversation like any other. They mainly talked about their upcoming tests and how much preparation they’d already put into their exams.

Slowly Daichi tried to relax into their conversation. His shoulders were still stiff and he could barely hold himself from tapping impatiently with his foot, but so far there was no indication that Yaku had noticed anything. At one point he even allowed himself to swallow in an attempt to get rid of the dry feeling in his mouth and the dread in his stomach. Everything was fine.

But then he made a grave mistake.

He looked onto his watch and upon seeing the time he flinched, his smile faltering. It was only for a short moment, but a quick glance into Yaku’s eyes told him that he’d recognized his slip up as exactly that. The way his pupils seemed to narrow and focus onto the smallest of details was something Daichi admired as much as he feared it. It was an ability he recognized as extremely useful in the field of their future occupation and Daichi wasn’t above himself to say he didn’t envy it at all. At the same time, though, it was an ability that made your knees shake in fear once it was concentrated on yourself. And Daichi, unfortunately, found himself in exactly that situation now.

“Daichi? Is something the matter?” Yaku’s voice was soft, lowered to keep others from overhearing. It was one that told you it was ‘ok’, you didn’t have to tell him if you really didn’t want to, yet it was firm enough to signal you ‘I’m here. You can tell me.’ It was a voice that made it much easier for Daichi to breath.

The smile he showed Yaku this time was far more relaxed than his previous. “Thank you. Really, I appreciate your concern. But I’m fine. I just want to leave this place soon and get lunch in peace.” Daichi could tell that Yaku watched him carefully, evaluating his every word and body language, searching for any hint that could tell him whether Daichi was lying or telling the truth. Daichi knew he’d passed when Yaku gave a quick nod and an apparently satisfied smile.

Finally, his examination was over and Yaku’s smile brightened. He put a hand on his hip while his other kept supporting the bag slung over his shoulder. “Great! Then I don’t wanna keep you from getting your well-deserved peace and quiet. I’m meeting with some others in a bit at the restaurant down the street, but it doesn’t seem like I can persuade you to join us, hn?”

Daichi scratched his head in mild embarrassment. his smile getting a bit more strained from before. “I’m sorry.” It wasn’t the first time he rejected his friend’s offer and he was certain it wouldn’t be the last time. It wasn’t that he hated spending time with them or didn’t like it, but there were times when Daichi simply preferred staying by himself. And Yaku was thankfully one of those people who understood.

Separating with promises for another time and good luck’s for their upcoming exams, Daichi walked the remaining distance towards the parking slots. Once he reached his car, he once more rejected an invitation for lunch from another acquaintance from another class and entered his car without further interruptions. The sound of his closing car door was the last thing he heard before silence engulfed him.

Weariness seeped into his bones as Daichi let his body melt into the car seat, his head rested against the headrest. He didn’t waste a single second before he closed his eyes to give in to darkness and silence and a moment of pure inner peace. It didn’t last long as there were still other recruits around who were starting their machines to leave for their own lunch breaks. Too soon and too often for Daichi’s liking. He listened to the bangs of car doors being closed with too much unnecessary strength and to the sounds of wheels on asphalt. Daichi kept listening as the cars accelerated before the humming of the different machines were steadily becoming quieter. Then there was once more only darkness and silence that’s left for Daichi.

Daichi took a deep breath, inhaling the calm and quiet surrounding him, then exhaled everything, his weariness, his worries, and his stress, in one big sigh. Once he felt the tenseness in his shoulders lessen, he opened his eyes again and pulled out his phone. It’s been roughly three months since he started studying at the police academy that was the closest to his hometown and almost half a year since his graduation from Tohoku University, five months since he’d parted ways with Suga, his best friend, and started to prefer being alone and checking out the cafés and restaurants in the vicinity of the academy over hanging out with new, fleeting acquaintances. The last café he’d been at was called _‘Little Break_ ’ and had a nice variety in sandwiches. A look on his phone told Daichi though, that he’d already tried all the sandwiches he’d wanted to try at least once. While Daichi did indeed enjoy their food - the ingredients were fresh, the bread was crunchy, yet didn’t hurt his gum, and was added by a suiting sauce, but not drenched in it - he didn’t feel any stronger attachment to the café that was squished between shops. Whenever he tried to lose himself in the relaxation the nice furniture, the food and the polite staff offered, he was reminded of the hectic and stress of the outside world whenever he looked outside the windows. In those moments his peaceful little bubble bursted and he felt like he was close to suffocating in this isolated box. It was a good café nonetheless. It just wasn’t what he was searching for. Not that Daichi himself knew what he was searching for, but he was certain he’d know once he found it.

Pushing the memories of warm bread and fresh vegetables aside, Daichi put his focus back on the list he’d started just a couple of weeks after he’d started attending the academy and had gotten bored of going to the closest restaurant where most others went to. It was within walking distance, its prices accommodated to the students attending university or the academy close by and its food far better than the academy’s. Yet, Daichi’d gotten bored of it soon. Its once totally acceptable food got bland and the once pleasant atmosphere stiff. Joining other acquaintances to another place close by made it better, but also this didn’t last long.

_‘The Floral Crow_ ’, that was the next name on Daichi’s list. With a small smile, Daichi remembered that it was one of the few places that were sticking a bit out of his usual ‘hunting ground’. It wasn’t just an ordinary café according to its scarcely informative website, but also inhibited a bakery and offered dishes you’d usually find at restaurants. Since most of the dishes were freshly prepared on the spot, their prices were higher than others. Yet, instead of ignoring it like he usually did in those cases, Daichi put it on his list. He’d a good feeling about the place. Like something about the picture of the building’s front promised him the calm he yearned for. And then there’s also the name. _Idiot,_ Daichi thought to himself, _who chooses a restaurant, because the name made them remember their high school time?!_

Yet, here he was. Daichi’d written down the café’s name and today would be the day where he’d finally visit the place.

With hopes of finally having found _that_ place, Daichi entered the café’s address into his navigation system and drove out of the parking slots.

He never looked even once at the café’s owner’s name. He never had before and he didn’t have any reason to do so now.

Maybe he should’ve looked this time.


	2. Dejoined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi arrives and Asahi wants to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey, it's been a while~  
> Okay, first of all I'm once more very sorry that this took longer than a week! ~~It's my first time writing Asahi, forgive me~~
> 
> I still hope you guys enjoy reading this, though!

Listening to his navigation system’s static voice saying “Your goal is on the right side”, which was soon followed by a “You have reached your goal”, Daichi slowed down his car and, after looking out for cars from the opposite direction, turned his wheel around to drive into a parking spot not too far away from his destination. Ignoring the voice’s annoying request to turn around, Daichi turned off the engine and pulled off his keys with the small volleyball keychain a friend from high school gave him years ago. He shortly considered whether it might be better to take his backpack inside with him, but then decided he didn’t want to concern himself with the newest statistics of criminality in the Tohoku region or whether the regional ratings were related to the number of foreigners living there. He only grabbed his black leather wallet before exiting his car. Shoving it in his back-pocket, Daichi locked the door and looked around the parking lot.

Aside from himself there were less than a dozen other cars parked in the lot. Subtracting possible residents parking there, as well as visitors of residents and customers of the other few shops that were in this rather unpopular seeming side-street, Daichi guessed that the café he chose to frequent this time wasn’t a very popular one. For a moment he wondered if the prices seemed to be higher than at other places because they were in danger of going bankrupt. Not that this was of his concern. For the time being, Daichi would go to ‘The Flora Crown’ for his lunch break. But according to his past experiences, it wouldn't take more than two weeks from now until he’d get tired of always going to the same place, eating similar flavoured things by the same cook and drinking the same drinks in the same atmosphere with the same customers.

Heaving a tired sigh, Daichi stoved his keys in his pants’ front pocket and headed towards the café that came into view as soon as he left the parking lot. When he’d seen the building on its webpage, Daichi had already been astonished by its unusual design, but seeing it live, right in front of his eyes and not on a possibly altered picture on the internet, was still something completely different. While most of the buildings in the street were a mix of apartment complexes and historical buildings, the building of “The Flora Crow” was a more western like building made of bright brick stones and with a flat roof top. From where he’d left the parking lot, Daichi could discern something that seemed to be some kind of winter garden or a greenhouse on top of the three-store building, as well as several plants in various sizes, shapes and colours surrounding the semi-transparent house. The occasional flapping of wings and unmistakable croaking told Daichi that there might be a profound, if romanticised, reason for the café’s name.

The closer Daichi got to the building, the harder it was for him to look up onto its uncommonly decorated roof without straining his neck. In the hope of avoiding a stiff neck and yet another headache, Daichi lowered his gaze to focus on the entrance of the nature-close building. With a small chuckle, Daichi noticed that the entrance also kept true to its name. The green and white painted wood of the entrance door where lined by two windows on each side, which frames were kept in the same green as the one used for the door. What had caught Daichi’s attention, though, were the pictures of crows and exotic flowers that were stuck to the window glasses, making it hard to look inside the café. Daichi was curious to find out whether it would be just as hard to look outside as it was to look inside. The only other things he could make out from the outside - without peering far too conspicuous inside by pressing his nose against the glass - were soft-looking, cream-coloured curtains and more plants on the window sill. Having come to a stop in front of one of the windows, Daichi couldn’t help feeling a bit excited. Whether the food and the atmosphere would be to his liking or not was still an open question, but Daichi could already tell that this café was different from those he’d been to before. Tearing his unwilling eyes away from the colourful window decorations, Daichi kept walking towards the entrance door. Right above it hang a bronze sign with the café’s name written in a curve above the picture of yet another black crow, that was about to fly off into the sky and a couple of surprisingly detailed flowers in its beak. Smiling at the apparently stubborn confirmation of the café’s name, Daichi took a deep breath and reached out for the door knob.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“... ‘ve you heard what happened to Mizutani-san?”

“Mizutani-san? You mean, Mizutani Ayumu?”

“Wasn’t her purse stolen as she went to visit her grandson?”

“No, i mean, yes, it was, but I meant Mizutani Arina, her daughter.”

“Oh, no, I didn’t. What happened?”

“You won’t believe it! I wouldn’t have believed it either, if I hadn’t heard it directly from Takano-san, who’s living right next to her and had seen it herself!”

“Oh stop being so dramatic! What happened?!”

Smirking smugly, the woman leant over the table and continued with a conspiratorial tone. “Well, apparently-”

“Azumane-kun, be so kind and make me another cup of coffee, won’t ya?” Asahi flinched as a familiar voice interrupted the lively chatter of the neighborhood’s infamous gossip-ladies, catching him off-guard. As it was the not-so-busy time of the day, he’d kept himself busy with polishing the cups on the shelves and accidentally let his mind wander. Scratching the back of his head, Asahi smiled shyly at the elderly woman.  

“Of course, Yamada-san. Please give me a moment. You want cream in it?”

“Yes, please. Thank you, dear.”

“No probl-”

“Oh, while you’re at it, Azumane-kun,” Katsuda-san, another one of the three gossip ladies, spoke up. “I’d like another cup of black tea with milk, please. And one of those delicious pastries. The ones with the vanilla pudding.” Asahi nodded along to her words to convey he paid attention and in return received a small smile.

“In that case, I’d like one of those as well,” Yamada-san added to their order, then turned towards the last woman in their little group. “What about you, Miyako? If you want something, you should speak up now, before Azumane-kun gets busy again.”

“Oh, thank you, but no, thank you. I had enough for now,” Watanabe Miyako-san declined, waving a hand dismissively in front of her.

“You sure? We still have a bit more time before we’ve to return home and prepare supper,” Katsuda-san reasoned with the smallest of the three already very small women as well.

“But …” Watanabe-san tilted her head, her left hand cupping her cheek, as she knitted her brows in thought, her protest laying weakly on her tongue.

Smiling politely, Asahi decided to join in on the women’s discussion, knowing from experience it would drag on for quite a while if he didn’t interject now. “You sure Watanabe-san? It really wouldn’t be a bother for me. I’m still completely free for now and all yours.”

To Asahi’s greatest relief, his words had the desired effect. The old lady giggled and turned to Asahi with crinkled eyes. “That’s so nice of you, Azumane-kun, but I really can’t. You know, with my higher age I better take care of my weight …”

“I’m sorry, Watanabe-san, but I don’t really see where the problem is. Your age, as well as your weight, seem totally fine to me.” Having known her since he was small, Asahi was aware of what kind of direction their conversation would take when he said this, but as repetitive as their conversations might seem, Asahi couldn’t bring himself to not say it again. Not when his words caused her laughing lines to crinkle even more and she shielded her mouth with her hand to hide another wave of giggles.

“You’re such a charmeur, Azumane-kun. It’s such a shame my granddaughter already has a fiancé. You’ll make a great husband one day to whoever is lucky enough to gain your attention!” Despite it not being the first time that Asahi heard things like this from the older part of their neighborhood, he couldn’t help but blush and stutter out a weak refusal, which made the other women at the round table giggle as well. “Ah, fine, please bring another coffee with cream.” Having finally giving in to the group pressure, Watanabe-san glanced at her friends, who were still carefully observing her with eagle eyes. Sighing exasperated while rolling her eyes at them, she eventually relented. “Oh fine! And one of those pastries as well, please.” Asahi smiled wryly and watched as Yamada-san and Katsuda-san broke into a fit of laughter that didn’t leave their friend completely unaffected, despite her little stubborn pout.

The reboant laughter disappeared as soon as it had appeared and suddenly Asahi found himself once more under the attention of the three sharp gazes. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he imagined what it would be like to get on the bad side of these experienced women. He quickly shook his head, forcing the fearful imaginations far away from him, and tried to ignore the terror in his gut by going back to routine. “O-o-of c-course, W-watana-abe-san! T-two coffee with cream, a-a black tea with milk and three of the vanilla pudding pastries, coming right up!” Somehow managing to pull himself together enough to regain at least some of his professional act, Asahi bowed towards his elderly customers and  waited with his head still lowered as the women elegantly returned his bow with kind smiles. Once they turned away from him to exchange more gossip from their district, the fear slowly began to dissipate. With a feeling of finally being able to relax once again, Asahi took a deep breath and went to fulfill their orders.

Asahi noted that the pastries the women had ordered were the last of their kind and since his three regular customers were still busy gossiping, he took the time to get a quick overview of whatever other things were missing or seemed to be a bit short in number. Before he found the time to write it down, though, the phone was ringing and Asahi had to content himself with a mental memo. Once the phone call was over and he finished writing down the new order on his notepad, Asahi served the pastries along with the ordered hot drinks. As he walked back behind the counter, Asahi took his time to look around his family’s café to see if any other customers were hoping to gain his attention.

Aside from the old ladies sitting at a round table close to the counter, there was a middle aged man in a suit sitting further in the back of the café. He was another regular, who spent his lunch break with reading the daily newspaper right next to the patio door, that led into their garden. In the garden itself were sitting two women with toddlers and were sipping on tea as they watched their children play. They also had two other guests, who were taking part of their biweekly lessons in a traditional tea ceremony that Asahi’s grandmother and mother were holding at the other end of the garden, but those didn’t fell into Asahi’s service area.

Having made sure that all of their customers seemed to be satisfied with their current situation, Asahi pulled the curtain that was covering the entrance to the ‘staff only’ area aside and walked into the kitchen. What awaited him there were flour covered counters, countless ingredients with names Asahi couldn’t even guess and two in white clothed people that turned to him upon his entrance. One of the two men, a brown-haired man who worked as their cook, while also helping out with the bread baking, waved towards Asahi as a greeting. The other man though, their pinkish haired baker, didn’t even pull one of his hands out of the dough he was kneading and only smirked slyly at the taller man, giving Asahi bad vibes.

“Oho? What did we do this time to be graced with the great Asahi-san’s presence?” Smiling nervously, Asahi thought the faster he got to leave the focus of those impishly glinting eyes the better.

But while his mind was made up to leave as soon as possible, his mouth apparently couldn’t catch up with that decision. “O-oh, w-well, you-u k-know, j-just k-kno-ow, t-the ph-phone-” Stuttering around without actually getting his point across only made the devious smirk grow wider and in turn caused Asahi’s stuttering to get even worse.

Obviously having fun with mocking his superior, the mischievous baker put his dough-sticky hands up to his ears, like he was trying to hear better. “Yeees? What is it, Asahi-san? If you don’t speak clearly, I won’t be able to understand you.”

“W-w-w-w-well-” Fortunately, Asahi wasn’t alone with the devious baker in the room.

“Oh stop it now! We’ve got work to do and we won’t get anywhere when you keep pestering Asahi-san!” From one moment to the next, Asahi was freed of the nerve-wrecking gaze. Sighing quietly in relief, Asahi also focused his attention on the smaller, lean man who’d put both his flour covered hands on his hips and now stared at their baker with a strict, spellbinding gaze.

“Aww, come on, don’t be so strict.” Despite his monotonous tone and the bored look on his face, his default expression according to Asahi’s observations, he somehow managed to get a feeling of dramatic across. Maybe it was the dough-dirty hand that was now pressed to his heart or maybe it had to do with the fact that it was his boyfriend he was talking to now. Asahi really didn’t know, but thinking about it would just cause him so much more confusion, so he simply shook his head to push the wondrous impression as far aside as he could.

Meanwhile, their cook somehow managed to get the baker’s want for mischief under control. With a small pout, the baker once more mumbled something along the lines of “that’s no fun”, but the smaller man ignored them and instead turned to Asahi with a friendly smile. “So? What can we do for you, Asahi-san?” Asahi smiled, relieved that at least one of his employees was focused on their work and seemed to respect him.

“Could you bake another loaf of sesame bread? And three of the cheese and ham croissants as well. Taniwa-san had just called to order them. He’ll come over after work to fetch it. So, it’d be great if you could prepare it when you’ve got time. Then I can hand it to him later, in case you’re already off work.”

“Of course! Your word may be my order!” Flinching slightly upon the surprising shout that was soon followed by a deep bow with exasperated arm movements, Asahi could only nod with a tense facial expression. The cook, at the other hand, only sighed exhaustively at his lover’s antics and Asahi found himself wondering, not for the first time, admittedly, how the two managed to live together, when their characters were so different.

“Please stop being weird and get to work.” Throwing a last strict glance at the baker, who actually got the message and went back to kneading the dough, if it was accompanied by his impish grin, the brown-haired man turned back to smile politely at Asahi. “Anything else we should prepare or refill?”

Asahi hummed and tapped his index finger against his chin as he mentally went through the rows of sweets, cakes and sandwiches they had on display. “Yes, please prepare three more of the chicken sandwiches and two more of the ones with salami and turkey each. Oh, and I just sold the last of the vanilla pudding pastries, could you make a couple of those as well?”

“As you wish, my lord!” Once more attracting everyone’s attention, their baker saluted to Asahi, causing the cook to roll his eyes and smile apologetically. Seeing the two lovers with their absolute opposite behaviour, Asahi couldn’t help but giggle. A grave mistake, so Asahi knew the moment he could see the baker’s eyes flash. Horror made his blood run cold, his legs shivering weakly. The baker opened his mouth, definitely some kind of devious comment ready to shoot at Asahi.

But apparently Asahi for once had good fortune.

Before anyone could say anything else, the bell of their entrance door chimed. A customer. Nothing was more important than a customer. Putting his working smile on, Asahi didn't hesitate to turn towards the exit of the kitchen with mixed feelings of relieve, mild excitement and nervosity. Aside from their already present regulars, they rarely had customers around this time of the day. Asahi hoped he’d make a good first impression on the new visitor(s) and wouldn’t scare them off like he’d those middle school girls a few weeks ago during golden week.

Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Asahi glanced around the curtain to see what kind of customer was waiting for him. His sadistic baker once said he was angstier than an kindergarten school kid on their first day at school. Wanting to prove himself, Asahi had actually tried to overcome that habit, causing many spilled tears as he tensely smiled  down at their younger customers, as well as several quick exits by other, not as young, quickly paling customers. Eventually he'd just given up on trying to change anything and instead went back to his old habit of taking a moment outside of their customer's sight to prepare himself for the upcoming interaction.

Back then, he'd felt like he'd lost. Not just like he lost some kind of bet. Rather, it was like he lost against his own weak self. He was disappointed that he wasn't strong enough to overcome those weaknesses.

Now though, he was more than simply glad that he’d never managed to change that habit. Because at the other side of the counter, looking at the displayed sweets and sandwiches instead of watching the entrance to the kitchen, was the one person Asahi had never expected, never wanted, to see in this kind of setting. This situation right now was Asahi’s absolute greatest worst case scenario. Even worse than a group of crying kindergarten children as they were scared of his smiling appearance. Even worse than his mother and grandmother sitting down with other women of their neighborhood to play matchmaker for him. Screaming a silent scream, Asahi fled back into the safety of the kitchen.

Baffled at their superiors sudden return, the two present members of their kitchen staff exchanged confused looks. "Azumane-san? Excuse me for asking, but what are you doing under the counter? Aren't you supposed to take the order from our new customer?" Two pairs of light brown eyes stared at Asahi as he tried to hide his huge self under said counter in the back of their kitchen. One pair was politely blank with slight worry creasing their brows. The other seemed bored. Had he not been in a state close to panic, Asahi might have noticed the refreshed mischief sparkling in them.

"I-I can't go out there!" Despite his voice having gained one or two octaves, it was barely more than a whisper.

The two pairs of eyes met once more in confused wonder. Again it was the cook who dared to inquire for more explanation. "And why not?"

"B-b-because i-it's him!"

"...who?"

"D-Daichi!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weelll, I'd say I'm sorry that this wasn't the reunion you were waiting for, but I'm actually quite pleased with the turn it took, so I won't apologize :p  
> Still hope you liked it anyway, though!! :D
> 
> I think it's pretty obvious, but I still couldn't bring myself to use the 'kitchen staff' members names. Anyone wants to guess who it is??? xD


	3. Deflected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi meets a person from the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *glances from behind corner* 
> 
> *pushes it over quickly*
> 
> *disappears back into the pit*

To say that Daichi was surprised would be an understatement. Despite having been to several different restaurants and cafés by now and having his expectations been thrown overboard many times, he’d never been able to prevent himself from being prejudiced towards a shop. Sometimes it was the prize, at other times the location, then it was the looks of the building or certain rumours. Whatever it was, there was always something that gave him certain ideas, expectations of the place he was going to visit. And while they were often true, they were just as often wrong. Therefore Daichi tried to not let himself be prejudiced by something as unimportant as appearance.

But Daichi was also only human. He couldn’t help it when he automatically tried to create an image of a place with given information. It was a natural reaction and his very right. How else was he supposed to assess whether a place was worth his time?

Still, as Daichi stood inside ‘The Flora Crow’ and looked around, he couldn’t help but be surprised. Not because it was so different from what he’d expected, but rather because his expectations had been realised in ways Daichi hadn’t even thought of. From all the green he had seen on the rooftop and through the windows, he knew that the café would display quite a few plants, but even those expectations couldn’t have prepared him for what he was faced with now.

The café was separated in two halfs. The half to his left was filled with a bunch of booths at the wall and round tables in front of the windows as well as in the middle of the first half. The booths were divided by mahogany-colored wooden shields, half the size of the walls, with intricate patterns engraved in it and topped by a bunch of flowers and other greenery in pots that seemed to give a feel of isolation. The tables and chairs were of the same mahogany wood as the half-walls, while the seats and backrests were covered by comfy looking, lighter, beige bolster cases. The windowless, coffee cream-colored walls were decorated with pictures of green forests that reflected sunlight from the morning dew, vast meadows with rainbow colored flowers, bright blue skies with countless birds following the calls of nature, as well as grey cities ruled by carnivorous crows. Isolated by the greenery, undisturbed by the few customers excited, comfortable chatter, faced with pictures that each suited a different mood … Daichi could imagine that this place was going to be worth the time he would spend there.

Hearing muffled clattering from somewhere to his right, Daichi turned towards what seemed to be the ‘Order&Service’ area. Right in front of the two windows with the giant crow stickers were each a round, high table with seats that were more of a standing help than an actual possibility for sitting down. Probably for those waiting for their take-out order or, who‘re only there for a quick coffee. Not in much distance to the stand tables was a counter with a ‘take out’ sign above the register and more glass-covered counters next to it that displayed several rows of self-made sandwiches, onigiri, bento boxes, different kinds of bread and other, much sweeter, dishes available for take out. The displays that were lined up parallel to the windows transitioned into a curve, until it turned into another straight line, leading further into the room parallel to the sitting booths, not far away from where Daichi stood at the entrance door. This vertical line of counters, that displayed a grand variety of creative Western cakes and traditional Japanese sweets, had another register somewhere in the middle of the line with another sign above it. Though, Daichi couldn’t see it from where he stood, he assumed it was signalling the area where ‘stay-in’ customers could order.

While it was a bit hard for Daichi to guess the exact distance from where he stood, the counters that went into the shop didn’t seem to be even half the length of the shop. Instead, the counters ended at a windowless wall that seemed to encage an isolated area; as if there was another house within the building. _That must be the kitchen._ Soon after thinking that, Daichi found the words ‘staff only’ printed above a curtain covered, rounded passageway, framed by shelves with breads and cakes that would require a whole month worth of Daichi’s income for him to finance. Seeing that the curtain was swaying softly, Daichi concluded that _someone_ had been about to leave the staff area after hearing the entrance bell chiming, but then had turned around. _They could’ve at least tell me to wait a moment. How rude._ Frowning at his disappointing first ‘encounter’ - or rather ‘not-encounter’ - with the shop’s employees, Daichi walked further into the café, regarding the displayed cakes that had names like ‘emerald crow’, ‘pine murder’, ‘orange forest’, ‘deep-sea crow’, ‘raven nori’, ‘cactus crow’ … and many more whose name had absolutely no visible relation to the cake. Thankfully.

 _Who chooses names like those? And who allows them to name those like that?_ As hard as he tried, Daichi was incapable of comprehending what kind of person you had to be to think it was a great idea to base all their cake’s names on …  their shop name?

Aware of the gazes on him, originating from one of the round tables in the middle of the room where three older women sat at, Daichi resisted the urge to shake his head or to run his hand through his hair. Only a - hopefully - inconspicuous twitching of his fingers indicated the suppressed desire of an habitual action.

Caught in an inner fight with himself and his trust in the world, Daichi jumped slightly as the sound of squealing children’s laughter interrupted the soft background noise of radio music and gossiping grandma’s, cut off as soon as it erupted by the rattling crash of glass against glass - the opening and closing of a door? Daichi blinking startled, he looked in the direction from which he had heard the noise. And what he saw surprised him even more than the shop’s interior, even more than the cakes’ weird names.

At the very back of the shop, where another closed of wall with maybe one or two windows was _supposed_ to be, wasn’t a wall with maybe one or two windows. No. Instead, it almost seemed like the whole wall was made up of pure glass. And behind the glass there was … _A Jungle?! No. No, that can’t be. Those are Cherry Blossoms. And over there’re plum trees. Huh, is that lavender? Is that a garden? How did I not see those before?!_ Blinking profusely due to an uncomfortable mix of failed comprehension and light that glimmered through the gaps of the tree branches outside, Daichi needed a moment to take in the scene before him.

What he thought to be a wall of glass, actually were a number of almost frameless, giant windows, always two put together as a pair, one above the other, almost reaching from the floor to ceiling. In the middle of the wall, between two round tables, one of the two occupied by a customer with newspapers, was a sliding door made up of the same clear glass as the neighboring windows. And behind the glass, Daichi could see two women with small children. But it wasn’t them who baffled Daichi and neither was it the shop’s intriguing sound-proofness.

What’d caught Daichi’s undivided attention was a familiar figure. A person who’s currently facing Daichi only with his backside as he pulled grimaces at the children.

“Wha-Eh? Why are…?”

Hearing the stuttered words, the person by the terrasse door turned away from the glass, schooled his features into a polite smile and straightened his posture, obviously ready to for some customer interaction.

The formal posture fell as soon as the person’s brown gaze landed on Daichi. The person blinked. Once, twice. Then, his baffled expression made room for a startling smile.

“Well well well well! If that isn’t Sawamura Daichi! It’s been a while.” He hadn’t seen him in _years._ And yet it seemed like the only thing that had changed about the younger man was the waiter uniform. Black pants, white dress shirt and a white, spotless apron with green vines printed at the edges, topped by a blond side-cut and more piercings than Daichi thought of as acceptable in a professional area that dealt with customer service. Yet, here he was. Wearing the same dazzling smile that Daichi remembered and striding over to him with large steps. _He’s grown._

“Terushima-san. I never expected to see you here!” Daichi grinned at his enemy of high school days. The man who used to be smaller than Daichi was now roughly the same height as him. Swallowing the taste of bitterness upon the realisation that Terushima Yuuji might be taller than him now, Daichi copied Terushima’s friendly greeting by slapping his shoulder, causing the younger man to topple over, lightly. _At least I’m still stronger than him._ Daichi didn’t consider himself a petty or jealous kind of human. But even he’d to admit that he was feeling the slightest bit of relief at the realisation. _As long as nobody else knows..._ “How are you doing? You don’t seem to have changed a lot; appearance-wise.” Daichi cringed inwardly at his own comment, but either Terushima didn’t get the reference or he simply let it slide. Whichever it was, his bright smile didn’t dull in the slightest as he responded.

“Great, thank you! I’m actually working part time here; earning a bit of extra cash during my last year of university, ya know?” As he’s talking, Terushima placed both his hands on his hips and tipped his head to the side, gesturing towards the shop as a whole. “This is a great place. It’s pretty old. Apparently, its original build was constructed somewhen during the Edo period. But due to poverty and earthquakes it often changed owners and appearance. It isn’t a very popular place for the cooler kids, but we have a firm basis of regulars who keep us alive. It’s fun.” Grinning widely with a special sparkle in his eyes, Terushima puffed his chest like a peacock. And he looked just as proud. _As if the shop was his own,_ Daichi thought with a wry grin, accepting the flood of unnecessary information without comment. Suddenly, Terushima narrowed his eyes and leaned further into Daichi’s space than socially acceptable. “S’all in all, I’m more surprised to see _you_ here!” Terushima poked his index into Daichi’s chest, totally ignoring his troubled laugh or his attempt of keeping Terushima away from him by holding his his palms up in the small space between them, careful not to accidentally push him away with too much strength. The last thing he wanted now was attracting unwanted attention by causing the shop’s employees to sit with his butt on the ground in front of their customers. “Last thing I heard you went to study in the city. How are _you_ doing? Since when are ya back? Don’t tell m’ya were thrown out of uni and are surviving with 5 different part-time jobs at once now! Are ya?!”

“Wha- No! No, nothing of the sort! I’m doing fine,” Daichi hurried to reply, a vein above his brow twitching. After years of being away from home, he had somehow managed to forget how noisy some of his associates were.

“Oh? Well, good for you then!” Terushima grinned, honesty pouring out from every single cell of his toned body, and took half a step back. Daichi’s shoulders sagged with the newfound room. “What about you then? What else are you upto? Oh, wait, you’re here, so you probably wanted to fetch something to eat! Why don’t you tell me what you want and I’ll get it for you? Sit down in the meantime! We can still chat as you eat,” Terushima literally beamed at his words. Daichi though could already feel his lungs restrict in their work, his shoulders tensing. This break wouldn’t be as relaxing as he hoped it would, wouldn’t it? Not that he could get out of it now without seeming rude. Although that didn’t mean he wasn’t considering it. “Or don’t you have the time for a quick catching up? What is it Sawamura? Getting too old for multitasking?” But being caught under Terushima’s observant, challenging gaze, Daichi felt like he would lose if he were to pull out now. And that was something he couldn’t accept. So, despite knowing he was being tricked, Daichi sighed and gave in to the lure.

“Fine. A coffee, black. And two of your sandwiches. I don’t care which, just make sure they won’t kill me, okay?” His words made Terushima’s voice boom with laughter, successfully attracting everyone’s gazes. Daichi felt himself flush at the unwanted attention, but it didn’t make him ignorant of the ease with which he could suddenly breath again. “Who even came up with those names?” His question was either ignored or went unheard as Terushima walked behind the counter and went to work on his order.

“Gotcha! I will be done in a flash, so sit down and relax, ‘kay?” Daichi shrugged a last time, then turned around to find a seat in one of the booths; the movement of the curtains completely slipping his attention.

A minute later Daichi was joined by Terushima who brought Daichi’s order. Thanking Terushima like the responsible, polite guy his parent raised him into, Daichi nooticed that Terushima had also brought a cup of caffé latte and another sandwich for himself. “Mind if I join you for my break?” Daichi mildly shook his head, his mind concentrated on something else.

“Where did you learn to do that,” Daichi questioned before he realised he was even talking.

“Do what?” Terushima responded, his head tilted as he blew some air into his beverage, playing with the foam as he tried to make it cool down faster.

“Carrying more than two plates without spilling the drink.” His cheeks warmed up again and Daichi inwardly cursed himself for talking without thinking about his words first. Now he looked like an idiot. Great.

“Oh, that? Learned that when I started waiting tables during my first year of university. That was before I started working here. Cool, isn’t it? Isn’t a hard as it looks, though, really.” Daichi doubted that, but he didn’t get the chance to ask more questions. “Enough about me! What about you now? How are you truly doing?”

As if he really wanted to know the truth, Daichi thought bitterly, frowning into his reflection of his coffee, but quickly chided himself. Terushima was just being considerate and tried to do some small talk. After all this time Daichi could at least do so much and meet him halfway on that front. “Oh, well, you see, I’m attending the Police Academy,” Daichi started and promptly found himself interrupted by Terushima.

“Police Academy, huh. Suits you!” Terushima grinned at him, but his eyes stayed serious, as if he really meant what he said. It caught Daichi a bit off-guard.

“Really?” Was there even so much as a ‘police’ type? Daichi thought about the others in his class, the friends he met from other courses during their first days. There might be some similarities between them, but Daichi didn’t thought of himself as the same kind of person as Yaku or any of the others.

“Yeah! You always had something … law-loyal.” He blinked slowly at the waiter. _Law-loyal?_ Daichi never considered that to be a bad thing, but somehow Terushima’s words made it seem like it was. He wasn’t sure what to think of that. Or say to it. Responding with an empty “is that so” and cautiously bit into his sandwich. Cheese with ham, salad, tomatoes and cucumbers, topped with their special sandwich sauce their cook made themself. The taste pleased his taste buds and Daichi hummed quietly, relieved that Terushima didn’t seem to plan on using him as their guinea pig. At least one good thing to come out of their unplanned encounter.

Terushima chuckled, his head leaning on his hand as he took a bite of his own sandwich. He was still chewing when he responded and Daichi’s mood instantly soured. Sadly, even the best food can’t save you from awful company. “Don’t worry, Sawamura! It’s not a bad thing!” Suddenly his movements stilled and Terushima fell into deep thought, a frown pulling down his brows. Watching him warily, Daichi didn’t dare to take another bite of his sandwich while his stomach rumoured like a bad omen. Finally Terushima seemed to snap out of it and he added, “You probably shouldn’t go drinking with me, though.”

And with that Daichi found a name for the rumouring in his stomach. It’s called ‘Dread’. “Terushima! Are yo-” Daichi hoped deeply that he was only kidding. Unfortunately, Terushima’s following words didn’t seem to give his hope much ground to breed.

“D-don’t worry! It’s nothing bad!” Terushima hastened to reply, his eyes suddenly widely opened, his mouth distorted into a stiff smile. So Daichi did the one thing he knew to do best. He worried.

“Are you sure? You can trust me, you know. If you’re in any kind of trouble-” Pushing the plate with his sandwich aside, Daichi leaned over the table, his eyes searching Terushima’s features for anything that could hint on dishonesty.

Taken aback by the sudden proximity, Terushima’s eyes opened almost comically wide and he let his turkey and mediterranean vegetables sandwich fall back onto his plate where it fell apart. An olive rolled across the table, leaving behind a trail of orange sauce before it stopped near the table’s edge, but none of them paid it any real mind. “I-I know! Thank you, but I’m fine, really, no problem, I-I was just kidding, honestly,” Terushima tried to placate Daichi, but Daichi’s doubt was almost palpable in the space between them, even if he didn’t say anything. Sweat collected on Terushima’s forehead, his arms awkwardly angled raised between them. “A-anyway … Police Academy, huh,” Terushima started, an obvious attempt on distracting Daichi, but suddenly he stilled and a puzzled look crossed his face, as if he only now realised something. “Eh? Wait, _Police Academy_? You don’t mean- the one downtown?!”

“Yes? Why ar-” Suddenly their positions changed and it was Terushima who invaded Daichi’s personal space, making him flinch back and in the process hit his cup of coffee with his elbow. It was only through sheer luck that he didn’t spill the beverage all over the table, or, worse, all over himself, but with Terushima gazing intensely at him, Daichi couldn’t really bring himself to feel lucky.

“But!” Terushima smacked his palms on the table, causing their dishes to chink. When once again no coffee was spilled, Daichi wondered how someone could be that lucky yet so unlucky at the same time. But his wondrous thoughts were short lived when Terushima spit out more. A complete sentence for once. “That isn’t that far away from here!”

Wary of the strain in Terushima’s jaw and neck muscles, Daichi chose his next words with care. “It isn’t. Barely 20 minutes by car. Though the traffic might infl-”

Once again Terushima didn’t allow Daichi to finish his sentence. “Sawamura!” Startled by the harsh tone, Daichi automatically straightened his posture. Was this what being part of the military felt like? His full focus on the dangerous glint in Terushima’s eyes, Dachi was given no chance to linger on that thought. “How come we haven’t seen each other around here before today? The semester began quite a bit ago, didn’t it?”

“Well, yes, but-” Daichi was trying to be placating, but Terushima was having none of that.

“I can’t believe you’ve been here all this time and didn’t tell a soul! Or was it that nobody seemed to care enough to tell me?” Momentarily distracted by his own new thought, Terushima glared at a point behind Daichi, but soon after he almost violently shook his head, giving Daichi whiplash just from watching him. “No, no, Noya and Ryuu can’t keep a secret if it concerned their own lives-”

Noya? Ryuu? Did he knew, no, was Terushima friends with Nishinoya and Tanaka? How did that happen? Was that even possible? As far as Daichi remembered, Noya and Tanaka pretty much hated Terushima’s guts after the incident with Kiyoko.

“Makki and Shigeru wouldn’t know either-”

And why did those names sound so familiar now? Maybe they were former members of Jouzenji?

“Asahi definitely wouldn’t be able to keep a secret like this either-”

So he knew Asahi as well, huh. It was strange how much everything could change when you lost track of things for a while.

“Wait, but doesn’t that mean, you didn’t tell anybody?” Suddenly reaching a new milestone in his thinking, Terushima stared at Daichi with utmost clarity.

Oh. Oh no. This was getting dangerous. Daichi forgot how smart Terushima could be when it came down to it.

“Sawamura.” Daichi flinched at the strictness in his voice. ”Do you have anything to hide?”

 

 

* * *

 

  


“Now now, not so fast, Speedy Gonzales!” Asahi reciprocated the smirking man’s gaze with dilated, saucer-sized eyes and awfully shaking limbs. “Are you saying that _that_ Daichi is _here_ ? _Sawamura_ Daichi? _Here_ ? In _this_ café? Right _now_?”

Not trusting his voice, and not wanting to be made fun of for sounding like ‘a mouse on ecstasy’, again, Asahi settled for nodding his head at all of Hanamaki’s statements, hyperaware of his and Yahaba’s piercing gazes gazes on him.

“Then why are you even in here still? You should get out there and _greet_ him!” Hanamaki’s voice could definitely be called ‘exasperated’. “Aren’t you friends? What’s there for you to be afraid of?” That’s right, Asahi thought. Daichi’s his friend. Even if it was only for the duration of high school, those short three years should amount to at least _something,_ shouldn’t they? Yet, even with those thoughts in mind, Asahi couldn’t bring his limbs to listen to him. Hanamaki groaned above him and muttered something about ‘having left love dramas behind when he stopped seeing Oikawa regularly’, but Asahi disregarded it quickly since it had nothing to do with his current dilemma. Namely, his cramping leg, caused by squeezing himself into space that was supposed to be far too small to contain his complete self, but which he still had managed to do. Somehow.

“Na na,” Yahaba intercepted now, apparently having come to the conclusion they won’t get anywhere like this. “Why don’t you come out first, hm? Whether he’s here or not, he’s still only a customer and thus not allowed to enter the kitchen. So, he can’t see you even if you aren’t hiding yourself. And, to be honest, your position seems really uncomfortable. We can still think about what to do when you’re sitting on a chair and some herb tea for your nerves. What about it? Sound good?” Yahaba glanced down at Asahi with a soft smile and Asahi couldn’t help but feel like a toddler being persuaded by their grandmother with a box of cookies, rather than their employer.

And somehow this only made everything worse.

Exhaling a shuddering breath, Asahi lowered his head, whispering something none of his employees could possibly understand.

“What was that, Asahi-san?” Yahaba inquired after a moment of silence in which the two kitchen staff members exchanged looks of missing understanding. Asahi really didn’t want to tell them, but the realisation that not telling them wouldn’t get him out of his miserable situation throbbed painfully in his cramping leg. So he swallowed his depressed feelings and repeated himself.

“I can’t… I can’t move. I’m stuck.”

His words were met with silence. Traitorous silence. Asahi waited for it. And then he heard it. Hanamatsu’s booming guffaw echoing from their blank kitchen walls.

“ _Hanamaki_ ,” Yahaba spoke sharply, chiding the older man even as he was biting his own lip, his cheeks flushed in a deep purple as he tried to keep his own bubbling laughter in check. Asahi meanwhile was certain. This was where he would die. “Think of our customers!”

Taking deep breaths, Hanamaki fought with his composure. Tears stuck to his lashes and he raised a hand to wipe them away, only to stab himself in the eye as his body was still trembling from hardly held back chuckles. “Ouch,” he yelled, but none of the others felt any bit compassionate for him.

“You deserved that,” Yahaba sneered and crouched down to get a better look at Asahi. “Why don’t you take care of our dear _customer_ , and prevent them from leaving while you’re on it, while I help out Asahi. What do you say?”

“Fine,” Hanamaki drawled, far less amused now then he was a minute ago. Although there was still a small smile sneaking its way onto his face as he once again regarded Asahi. Then he wiped his hand on a piece of cloth that was laying around and headed out of the kitchen.

Asahi wasn’t fully freed yet, his head still tugged under the desk, even though he finally could stretch his cramping leg now, fortunately, when Hanamaki came back.

“Didn’t I tell you to handle the customers,” Yahaba commented upon the baker’s early return. “Please, don’t tell me you scared him off already.” Asahi’s eyes grew in astonishing siz, his face quickly losing color, and Hanamaki snorted.

“Nope, nothing of the sort, honey. But apparently Terushima’s shift with grandma Azumane is over.” Finally, Yahaba managed to pull Asahi’s second leg out from under the table and was now free to turn and frown at Hanamaki from below, paying close to zero attention to his employers hisses of pain.

“So what you mean to say is, Terushima took over what I asked you to do and served Sawamura-san, so now Sawamura-san is about to leave with nobody there to stop him once he finishes?” Asahi very possibly might have stopped breathing at that, his heart clenching painfully. He couldn’t let Daichi leave like that. Not again. Asahi needed the certainty that they would see each other again. He didn’t care what he looked like as he stared at Hanamki with pleading eyes and bated breath, hoping he would tell them something different, but not daring to ask as the chance of the answer being a negative one was looming over him like thick clouds filled with misfortune.

“Almost,” Hanamaki conceded after a stretched moment of tense silence, obviously enjoying the situation. Yahaba glared at him, but before he could utter so much as another word, Hanamaki spoke up again. “Terushima decided he and Sawamura need to catch up on things. He told me he’s taking his break and is now sitting with him in one of the booths; chatting. Something our dear boss is supposed to do instead, but oh well.”

Asahi exhaled more air then he thought a human could possibly inhale, the relief over not having lost his last chance yet making his shoulders collapse. And suddenly he was free again. Yahaba’s glare softened to a frown and when he saw Asahi roll out from under the table, he pulled a chair closer to where they were before turning around to brew the promised tea. “So what you’re saying is, that Sawamura-san’s dealt with for now, giving us some time, but now the front is empty? Who’s gonna serve our customers when everyone’s taking breaks as they like,” Yahaba complained over his shoulder. Hanamaki shrugged, not caring about that as it was no part of his job description and instead watched Asahi with an almost bored expression as he was massaging his sore shoulders.

“What about Asahi over here?” Asahi stiffened as Hanamaki went on. “I mean isn’t that his job anyway? If necessary he could just make Terushima do it. I mean, it’s his break soon anyway, right? He could just use that as an excuse to call Terushima to the counter and in turn take his place at Daichi’s table. Sounds like a plan, right?” A scheming smile spread across his features and Asahi felt faint. He was half-glad and half-disappointed that he was sitting. It would have been a great excuse for him not to have to follow through with Hanamaki’s plan. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t talk to my longterm crush right now, I’m unconscious.’ Seemed pretty great to Asahi if he was being honest.

“Give him some space, Takahiro,” Yahaba said, pushing him easily out of the way to hand Asahi his tea. Happy to have an excuse not to say anything to them, Asahi quickly took a sip from the mug and promptly burnt his tongue. Yahaba simply shook his head with a hand on his cocked hip, while Hanamaki seemed torn between smirking and crinkling his nose.

“I can’t believe you’re so large and _buff_ and yet act like a little baby,” Hanamaki muttered and Yahaba said nothing to defend their boss. Asahi’s whine didn’t help his side of the matter. Watching Asahi blow his tea, Hanamaki eventually decided on a deadpan expression. He waited until Asahi took another, much saver, sip from his tea and a relaxed expression had settled on his face. His muscles weren’t as stiff, his eyes not as wide and his pupils not as dilated anymore. All in all you could say Asahi was missing the air of someone who was being hunted. And that moment Hanamaki chose to strike again.

“So? Are you gonna tell us now? Or do we have to kick you out of the kitchen?” For a moment Asahi stiffened again, his hands with the mug hovering midair on their way from his lap to his mouth. Then Asahi exhaled heavily, having come to the conclusion running away was useless and he may just as well face them. At least that was far better than his other option. Leaving the kitchen and facing Daichi.

“What do you want to know?” Yahaba, who was once again about to speak up in Asahi’s favour, stopped mid-inhale with an audible hitch. Asahi’s heart sank when he thought about how often he must have shown his weak side to them for Yahaba to automatically assume he needed his help.

Hanamaki blinked, taking a moment to choose his words. “What exactly is it you’re so afraid of?”

Asahi almost fell out of his chair. He had been certain that part had been pretty obvious all along. “That I’ll tell him! Daichi is dating _Suga!_ He had been in love with him since our first year and when they finally got together … I’ve never seen him happier!” And then, after a short break, Asahi added: “Okay, maybe when we managed to go to Nationals, but that was a different matter.”

“Hmm,” Hanamatsu hummed, deep in thought about something. Unusually serious, too. Yahaba eyed him warily.

“What is it?”

Hanamaki tilted his head, smiling innocently.“Nothing.”

“Oh, really? Then how come I don’t trust you?” Yahaba returned with a smile as sweet as cookie dough ice cream. But somehow it made Asahi break into a cold sweat.

Hanamaki grinned. “Because you know me, creampuff.”

Something sparkled in Yahaba’s eyes and his smile turned less nightmare inducing. There were probably as many times where Asahi was glad that those two came as a pack as there were times where it was his greatest regret. “Exactly! So spill.”

Hanamaki regarded them both for a few moments, humming lowly as he was probably, Asahi was pretty sure about that actually, considering how much farther he could go with this before he had to give in to appease Yahaba’s wrath. “Hmmm. Okay, fine.” Asahi had to blink twice at that. Somehow this was far too easy. “I didn’t want to at first, because you were mentioning your succeeding to Nationals and I felt like being a bad friend just for the sake of being salty and childish, but it’s been ages since then so I think I can forgive you this once. But you owe me something for this fine piece of information.” Hanamaki winked at Asahi who couldn’t help but shudder from the sudden creeps crawling down his spine. There it was. Once Hanamatsu told them what he knew Asahi would owe him something. He really didn’t want to know what that would be. Selling his soul would probably be easier than that.

“Takahiro,” Yahaba spoke, a strict edge in his voice.

“Fine, fine. They aren’t together anymore.”

Dumbfounded silence followed Hanamaki’s statement.

“Who?”

Hanamaki sighed exaggeratedly, a devious smirk on his lips. “Your sweetheart Daichi and, his now _ex_ , Suga. They broke up.”

“And how would you know,” Yahaba inquired for Asahi who could only stare open-mouthed at Hanamaki, his brain refusing to process the given information.

“Because _I_ am not breaking contact to all my friends just because we ended up at different places,” Hanamaki winked again. Yahaba groaned. Asahi felt his heart fall into his stomach. But he knew he deserved that hit. Probably.

“Who told you?” Yahaba stayed persistent, not trusting non-retraceable information. Especially not when it was coming from someone like Hanamaki.

“Reliable sources,” Hanamaki responded tight-lipped.

But Yahaba was having none of his secret-keeping. “Hanamaki.”

“Oi! You don’t expose your informants! That’s an unwritten rule,” Hanamaki complained his hands now raised defensively as he took a step back from Yahaba. Asahi simply watched them, barely breathing.

“ _Takahiro_ , ” it was Yahaba’s last warning and everyone could hear it. Hanamaki broke.

“It was Hajime, okay? He went to university with them. They’re friends,” the baker spoke fast, so fast that Asahi could barely follow him, but that might have just been his nerves, since Yahaba seemed to have no such troubles.

Squinting at the taller male, Yahaba kept asking, “And why would he tell you?”

“Because I’m an amazing person?” Hanamaki tilted his head with a placating smile, but it only earned him a deadpan stare. He huffed, a hand raised to touch his chest. “Mean.” Hanamaki pouted at Yahaba, but the former team captain was completely unmoved by his act. Finally the baker’s shoulders sagged and he exhaled once again immoderately before finally handing over the wanted information. “Because we were on the phone when he got a text and had to leave to comfort Daichi, okay? They broke up right after their graduation.” Then, with renewed vigor, he turned to Asahi and pointed at him with his outstretched hand. “Which means _you_ , Azumane Asahi, have no longer any reason to play crybaby and hide out here!”

“He isn’t really playing ‘crybaby’, though. He _is_ one,” Yahaba muttered under his breath, the weariness of having to deal with Hanamaki’s antics for too long at once having lowered his guard regarding his own matters. Yahaba stiffened and flushed deep red when he realised that they could all hear him clearly, because Hanamaki used that moment for a break in his speech for the sake of putting more emphasis on the next part.

Hanamaki grinned proudly, slapping Yahaba’s back. Asahi felt stabbed in the back and left to suffer a slow and cruel death. “True, but that’s not the point. The point is: _Be strong and get your man_ ! You don’t have to ask him to _marry_ you, goddammit! You don’t even have to ask him for a _date_ ! Just inquire if he would like to pick up contact again, _as friends_ . Get to know each other again, as _friends._ Get his _phone number._ And when that all goes well, only _then,_ you’ll ask him on a date! _Capiche_?”

“Yes sir!” Asahi answered automatically, without thinking about his words and with an enthusiasm he didn’t actually feel. Although, he was left with no chance to regret anything as Hanamatsu smiled at his _enthusiasm_ and pulled him from his chair to push him out of the kitchen. Asahi threw a panicked look over his shoulder, but only found a softly smiling Yahaba with his tea mug in his hold as he was giving him a thumbs up.

“Go get him tiger!” Was the last thing Asahi heard before his head passed the curtain and his heart stopped beating. His last thoughts were: _Please don’t start beating again, please._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it took me a while but I think I finally found out how to write Asahi??? And Terushima too??? ~~Even if I'm completely ignoring canon character development while doing so lmao help me~~


	4. Decomposed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An inaccurate number of times Asahi is about to suffer a heart-attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this chapter took me over a month to edit. Like, no, it was not Writer's Block that kept me from posting. This time. (Oh wonder oh wonder) It was just me adding and editing it until the original 10 pages turned into 20, yikes. (Bless my friends for listening to my ramblings and for helping me out when I was stuck, you guys are wonderful and I love you!!!! :* <3333)
> 
> Anyway, now the big moment has come!! The inevitable encounter!! Enjoy!!!

“Sawamura. Do you have anything to hide?”

_ “Daichi! Let’s break up!” _

Cold sweat collected in Daichi’s neck, making his skin itch, so he raised a hand to scratch along his recently trimmed hairline, quietly hoping that Terushima didn’t notice the faint shaking in his moved limb. “No? Why are you asking?” His lips pressed into a tight-lipped smile when his own obviously fake, strained words resounded in his ears like an alarm clock.  _ Please don’t notice.  _

Of course his prayers went unheard. Why did he even hope to expect anything else? Daichi should know better by now. Terushima’s eyes narrowed, his gaze flickering from the hand Daichi pressed against the table, leaving his fingers white and void of blood, to the one he hid with his head. The itch in Daichi’s neck spread to his sides. Terushima’s gaze focused back on Daichi’s face and Daichi nervously flicked his tongue over the inside of his teeth, as if his uttered lie had left stains on them. Doing so, he noticed the dryness in his mouth. He quickly glanced towards his by now cold and mostly empty coffee, but the thought of drinking just a little of it made his stomach churn.

“ _ Sawamura _ .” Hearing his name being called suddenly, each syllable stressed individually, Daichi’s head snapped up and he found himself bound by the serious glint in Terushima’s eyes. He saw Terushima open his mouth again, almost like in slow motion, and Daichi held his breath. “What are yo-” Terushima started, but for once it was him who was interrupted as a high-pitched squeal resounded from somewhere outside of the booth, followed by the sound of something very heavy falling to the ground and low groans of pain.

For a long moment the whole café was silent. Terushima and Daichi stared at each other, none of them daring to move, their eyes comically wide. Then the old lady’s frantic chatter and the screeching of metal chairs scraping over the floor pierced the heavy silence, attracting Terushima’s attention, and finally Daichi could breath freely again. 

Turning around in his booth to get a look on what had happened, Daichi saw the three women hovering in front of the counter area. He assumed that something must have happened behind the counters, although he couldn’t see what exactly it was from where he was sitting.

“Oh my goodness! What happened?”

“Are you okay, dear? Do you need help getting up?” An arm, one of incredible size Daichi noted, appeared from behind the counters and Daichi thought he heard a timid, frantic voice say “No, no, I’m fine,” but it was hard to say whether he heard right as the older guests just kept talking over the owner of the large arm.

“What happened? Are you alright? Did you black out?”

“Maybe you should sit down for a moment and take a break? Drink some water?”

“Yeah, better do that. I’m sure Yuuji-kun can take your place for a while. Where did he disappear to again?”

Hearing his given name, Terushima stopped hovering behind Daichi and left the booth. “I’m right here, Yamada-san. Just made sure our other guests are alright,” Terushima responded lightly, a careless smile on his face. Daichi frowned as he spotted hints of amusement in his voice. Wasn’t he supposed to be concerned, considering he was  _ working  _ there? “What happened?” The three women plus Terushima looked at the person still cowering behind the counter and Daichi perceived another pained - or maybe it was actually embarrassed? - groan.

Exchanging a look between each other, it was the smallest of the three women that answered Terushima’s question. “Well, we don’t know why, but Azumane-san collapsed.” Daichi pricked up his ears. Did he hear that right? That couldn’t possibly be right. And even if, it probably was someone else with the same name. Coincidences like that happened. “He had only left the staff area, too. I just saw him stumble out from behind the curtain and a moment later he was already laying on the ground.” Daichi’s hand twitched where he was gripping the booth’s visual cover. He hadn’t realised he had stood up. Heat creeped into his cheeks as he realised he was trying to go onto his tiptoes to get a better look. He felt like a little child, but he couldn’t help it. The possibility of being mere steps away from the person who’s image his mind had summoned left im with a strange and somewhat restless energy. He just needed to make sure. It’s been so long.

“Oh my, how did that happen? Don’t tell me your too large body finally realised it was inhibited by the wrong soul and refused to listen to you anymore? Hm, Asahi-san?” Somewhere on the edges of his mind Daichi heard chirpy giggling and soft scolding, but he paid it no mind, was unable to do so even, as his thoughts all spinned around a single name.  _ Asahi. Azumane Asahi.  _

Driven by the over and over again repeated name swirling in his mind, Daichi stepped out from the booth and walked towards the counter. He needed to confirm this with his own eyes.

 

* * *

 

Right after Hanamaki’s friendly push, Asahi stumbled over his own feet and fell to the floor with a very embarrassing “unf!”. His graceless fall was momentarily met by drowning silence and for that one short moment Asahi dared to hope nobody had taken note of him. Unfortunately, those who dared to raise to the platform of hope would fall even lower once the fragile floor was dispersed. And for Asahi, this unwritten rule was no exception. Once the initial moment of mutual shock was gone, Asahi was promptly greeted by their customers’ gushing concerns. Even their regular with the newspaper threw some curious glances his way. When, on top of his failing attempts at calming the cluster of women, Terushima’s teasing joined their chattering, Asahi was sure that he indeed must have died. Although obviously his afterlife would be anything but the longed-for peace and quiet, but rather an equivalent of hell. The thought was only emphasized when a single low-voiced utterance broke through the veil of chirpy laughter around him. Instantly, his heart stopped dead in its tracks.

“Asahi?”

A small voice in his head whispered to him that he’s supposed to say something or at least turn towards the voice, anything that showed he had heard  _ him _ . But he didn’t, couldn’t rather, as he was frozen to the spot, still kneeling on the hard ground. So instead of being a mature adult and responding in any way possible, Asahi was doing the complete opposite. Without any actual intent of doing so, Asahi ignored the call and kept his gaze firmly locked at the gap between Watanabe and Katsuda. Despite knowing how childishly stupid this was and hyper-aware of the multiple gazes bouncing between him and the speaker, Asahi refused to face the owner of the familiar baritone. He clung onto the hope that this all was only a hoax his mind had played on him. 

That is, at least, until he couldn’t do even that anymore.

“Oh, wow, it really  _ is  _ you! I haven’t seen you in ages! What are you doing here? Wait, what are you doing on the ground? Are you okay?” Asahi winced. His gaze darted towards the black-haired man behind the counters and glass displays, quickly noting that his face seemed to have lost the last remaining baby fat, which made it even more striking than it used to be, before skimming across the room, avoiding the dark brown eyes watching him almost mesmerized.

“Ah! U-uhm...” All color left Asahi’s face as he tried to remember how to form words, preferably some that didn’t make him seem like any more of an idiot than he already did with his clashing entrance. Although, before that could happen, he was saved by another interfering voice.

“Oh? You know Azumane-kun?” Yamada inquired, her friendly tone in contrast to the sharp gaze resting on Daichi. Asahi would have felt bad for his regular’s behaviour, if he wasn’t so grateful for her interruption. 

“Eh- ahh, yes, we went to highschool together and even played on the same volleyball team,” Daichi answered tensely. “We were friends. Although we unfortunately lost contact when we graduated.” Asahi hesitated, but as Daichi’s gaze stayed on the older woman, Asahi’s gaze returned to his old friend. He noticed the way Daichi had squared his shoulders and straightened his back, as well as the slight twitch of his left eyebrow. That all was familiar to Asahi. He had seen it several times in high school, whenever they were talking to a person they were supposed to show respect towards or who otherwise might have meant bad business. Like the vice principal. The fact that this part of his old friend hadn’t changed even after years was reassuring. It meant that maybe, even with the years of lacking contact, they might still be able to re-establish their old ties. 

But it also made his stomach twist uncomfortable. It didn’t take him long to recognise the sinking feeling as, by now familiar, guilt.

“Graduation? But that must have been years ago!” Watanabe chimed in, a hand held up to her mouth as she gaped at Daichi.

“How refreshing! A  _ reunión _ ! And I thought today would be boring,” Yamada mused, her gaze softening with her words, gaining a slightly defocused, dreamy look. “Oh, how happy I was when I met up with my old friends from high school! We were so young and energetic back then, so full of hope. Oh, how fast the time has passed!”

“Aren’t you glad to meet your old friend after such a long time, Azumane-kun?” Katsuda joined in, bringing the unwanted attention back to Asahi. He blushed furiously when Daichi turned around to face him and caught him staring. For a seemingly timeless moment, the two of them just stared at each other. A quiet exchange of unspectacular brown and omniscient black eyes. Then an eyebrow was quirked above the black orbs. Faced with the muted expectation, Asahi suddenly remembered he had been asked a question and jumped abruptly to his feet.

“Y-yes! O-o-of course!” His sudden movement and too loud voice startled the women, causing them to flinch and stare up at him wide-eyed. He apologized quickly, bowing his head repeatedly, and the warmth in his cheeks spread to his neck. Partly because of his shameful actions, partly because he was hyper-aware of Daichi’s amused gaze on him. Swallowing his shame, he glanced up at Daichi from his bowed position. Some stray streaks of hair had loosened from the knot on top of his head and tickled his cheeks, but he ignored them. “It’s b-been a w-while, D-daichi.” The smile that lightened up Daichi’s face was enough to make Asahi’s heart stumble out of its rhythm.

“Azumane-san, why don’t you take a break?” Asahi reared back and almost lost his balance once again as Terushima’s voice caught him off-guard. He was ashamed to admit that he had completely forgotten about his employee standing next to them. Rubbing his burning neck, Asahi turned to the man with the dyed hair who uncrossed his arms. He propped his hands on his hips and inflate his chest like a peacock, revelling at the new attention. While the movement itself seemed to be small and unimportant, the extra weight it gave to his  _ existence  _ wasn’t anything like that. In fact, it was hard to look anywhere but at him, now. Asahi’s sheepish smile crossed paths with Terushima’s ominous smirk. Cold shivers ran down Asahi’s spine. “I’ll make coffee for you. For all of you-” Terushima added as he gazed at the women observing them with open curiosity, a polite smile aimed their way, “- so why don’t you sit down?” The women took the hint as what it was and slowly made their way back to their seats, if not without some sighs and bandy looks. One of them complained half-heartedly under her breath, but was quickly hushed by another. 

As they shuffled back to their seats, Terushima’s gaze flitted to Daichi, then from him to Asahi and back, switching between them with a calculating glint. Suddenly a cheerful smile split his face. “Why don’t you follow their example and exchange some stories from the good old times?” 

Asahi tensed up, automatically . 

“A-ah, I-i-i d-don’t t-th-thi-” Asahi stuttered under the influence of a prevalent instinct to reject Terushima's offer. The truth was he wanted to do what the waiter had prompted, he really did. But something about the whole situation made him feel insecure. Like an insurmountable wall he had tried several times to surpass, yet had failed to do so over and over again. Be it a direct approach, like an Ace’s most powerful spike when he’s met with a three-man block, or an indirect approach, like a faint when you realise you won’t make it through the block. Whichever he tried, he always seemed to fail. With Daichi watching him from the sidelines, the pressure of wanting to conquer that wall was increased tenfold. He refused to give in to it. Preparing for another hit, another serve that would be his kick off for a new approach, his  _ break _ , Asahi took a new ball and threw it in the air. Running up to it, Asahi jumped, ready to spike it across the net with all the determination he had in him. 

But before he had the chance to hit the ball, Daichi took the initiative away from him. He spiked the ball and made a point, leaving Asahi hanging mid-air with no chance of regaining control as he watched the events unfold.

“I’m sorry. I’d love to, really,” Daichi responded sincerely, glancing on his watch with a wrinkled forehead that threw shadows over his eyes. Pitch-black orbs in hollow sockets. Dark, vast and unapproachable. Asahi couldn’t tear his gaze away from them. They were beautiful. “But my next class starts soon and when I don’t leave now I won’t make it in time to the academy should the traffic get slow or even jammed.” Despite having meant to reject Terushima’s proposal himself, Asahi heart dropped. He didn’t want Daichi to leave yet. But what rights did he have to say anything and hold him back, despite knowing he shouldn’t? Absolutely none.

“D-don’t be sorry. School comes always first,” Asahi responded quickly. The corners of his mouth twitched as he pulled into a smile he didn’t really feel. 

“Yeah,” Daichi trailed off, tilting his head as he stared at Asahi with a blank look, not actually  _ seeing  _ him even as he was  _ looking  _ at him. “Hmm, I’m busy on Monday, but do you work on Tuesday? I might make it here around the same time as today.” Daichi blinked once, twice, before his eyes lost that empty look and he focused on Asahi for real now. When Asahi took in his changed countenance, he noticed a new light in Daichi’s eyes. It made him seem incredibly young. 

“U-uhm, Tuesday?” Asahi asked, just to make sure he really had heard right, but Daichi nodded to confirm it, dispersing the few molecules of hope he had left. His heart fell even further as he had no choice but to negate the question. “No, I’m not. I’m visiting a market for herbs and teas on Tuesday with my grandma.” He glanced down at the glass displays as he spoke, but his gaze soon darted back towards Daichi, like a magnet drawn to it’s opposite force.

“Oh, is that so…” For just a moment, Asahi saw how Daichi’s face fell before he quickly hid it behind a neutral expression.

“Y-yeah, b-but I’m working here throughout the weekend. You can come by. I mean, if you want to,” Asahi offered quickly, before his hesitations regarding overstepping of boundaries could stop him. His pulse raced too fast to be healthy, but he did his best dealing with it as he wanted to make up for his lacking availability. He also didn’t want to miss yet another opportunity to meet Daichi again. Who knows when the next time would be and if Daichi would even want to see him again by then?

Daichi pressed a hand over his mouth and hummed as he mulled over Asahi’s offer. “I gotta study for a test next week plus some other assignments, but I guess I could come by when I finished them? Till when are you open?”

Asahi’s heart made a somersault at the prospect of seeing him again so soon. “Since it’s a weekend, 6pm on Saturdays and 4pm on Sundays.”

“Is that so? That’s a bit earlier than I expected.” Daichi’s eyes widened minutely before his brows pulled into a frown, a thoughtful look in his eyes. “I’m not sure if I can make it by then…” Asahi swore someone must have punched his solar plexus because it was suddenly very hard to breath.

“Oh...” His shoulders fell and for a moment he stared down at his hands’ hold on the counter’s edge, quietly digesting the hollow disappointment. When he noted how lax his grip was, though, he suddenly became very aware of how listless his posture was. His guts constricted. He must look like a kicked puppy. Instantly, he perked up and forced a smile. Waving his hands in front of him, he tried to dismiss his sudden mood change, not wanting to make Daichi feel bad just because he still hasn’t learnt how to control his own emotions. “I-i-i m-mean, i-i-i-iit’s f-f-fine! T-tests are i-important! You should t-take your time studying for them!” 

Daichi stared saucer-eyed at him, but soon his perplexed expression was replaced by a sincere smile. “Thanks for understanding.” 

Instantly Asahi’s pulse was back at 180 and warmth spread across his face. “S-sure,” he responded weakly, his brain not working properly enough anymore to provide him with anything else. Embarrassed by his own witless self, he scratched his cheek, before resting his hand in his neck. He wanted to say something, anything to break the heavy atmosphere between them, but his mouth was dry and his head empty and he didn’t want to embarrass himself any further, either. Digging his nails into his neck, as well as the counter’s edge, he chose the lesser evil and remained quiet. He saw Daichi fidget a bit, his arms crossing and uncrossing before him, his weight switching from one leg to the other. But even as it looked like he was about to say something, he eventually still didn’t. It was unusual. Them being insecure at the same time. Usually, it was him being fidgety and Daichi calm or it was Daichi who had doubts while Asahi was grounded through his trust in their team. 

But this was different. This situation was one they had never been in before. And none of them knew how to deal with it, yet. So without Daichi picking up on the loose threats of their conversation, either, they hit an unbridgeable dead-end in their conversation.

“Then why don’t you two exchange phone numbers, first?” Terushima chirped up again as a minute or a half passed in which, aside from some stray glances elsewhere and restlessly moving limbs, they simply stared at each other. “That way you can stay in contact and decide on a date that suits both of you without the pressure of missing class.”

“Good idea. I don’t know if your number is still the same, but I had to change mine recently and lost all of my contact data, so …eh?” Daichi patted his back pockets as he spoke, probably to fetch his phone. Before he could pull it out, though, his movements suddenly halted and a look of panic flashed through his eyes. He stared at Asahi bug-eyed, while his hands moved frantically back and forth between his back pockets, his front pockets, and even his shirt pockets. “Crap.” The curse under his breath was accompanied by a faint blush as the older women giggled behind them. Asahi couldn’t tell whether it was because of them or whether they were back to gossipping again. 

“Daichi? A-are you alright?” Asahi asked tentatively, not sure if he wanted to know the reason for his suddenly unruly appearance. Looking over his friend’s disheveled self, Asahi eventually found  _ it _ .

“Don’t tell me the always-reliable Sawamura-san has lost his phone?” Terushima pitched in with a dirty smirk on his face.

Daichi glared at him and threw a tarse “no” his way before turning back to Asahi with a sheepish grin. “Sorry, Asahi, but it seems like I forgot my phone in my car. What about yours?” Asahi flinched when he was called and thrown out of lala-land. To be honest, he had barely paid attention to what had been going on around him. Instead, he had stared completely dumbfounded at where Daichi’s shirt had ridden up at his side during his search. A sliver of tanned skin had become visible, very nicely accentuated by the dark blue fabrics, and Asahi just couldn’t stop  _ staring  _ at what must have been Daichi’s V-line. Daichi had been well-built before, but after 5 years? There was no comparison. The thought of running over it with the pad of his fingers left his head reeling.

“W-wha- m-me?” Asahi’s gaze flew back to Daichi’s blushing face and he felt himself flush a dark red as well. Despite knowing that mind-reading was not a thing, he couldn’t help but feel caught red-handed amidst the execution of a serious crime. “A-ah, y-yes, o-o-of c-course, my phone, u-uhm, w-wait, where did I, oh, right, the office, p-please wait a m-moment, I-I’ll fetch it right away!” Daichi called after him, saying it was fine, he just needed a piece of paper, but Asahi had already left the area without any intention of returning without his phone. 

 

* * *

 

Being once again left with the sight of a moving curtain and a grinning Terushima next to him, Daichi exhaled a heavy sigh. Despite his exasperation with Asahi’s glass heart, though, he felt a small smile play around his lips. He hadn’t realised how much he had missed his former chaotic teammates from Karasuno and the liveliness they had brought into his life. Being faced with the only other person who had gone through exactly the same experiences as he and Suga had, was therefore a very pleasant surprise. He was mildly astonished that Asahi had changed less than Daichi had expected him to after 5-years. It made warm waves of nostalgia wash through him and offer him memories of their shared past. Some were more fond than others but all were nonetheless pleasant. He had never truly believed it when elders told him time would give him another perspective on things, but now he did whole-heartedly.

His mind lingered a bit longer on his half-forgotten memories, before his focus finally shifted from the no-longer swaying curtain to Terushima as the other’s chuckling brought him back to the present. “What is it?”

“Oh, nothing. Just remembered that he’ll be gone for quite a while when he’s searching his phone in the office, whensoever he had stowed it in the cash register earlier this morning,” Terushima responded, his voice thick with amusement. Daichi huffed shallowly, not even half as amused as Terushima. 

“So what now?” He asked, glancing from his watch to the clock on the wall to compare the time. Just to make sure one of them wasn’t broken. Daichi was hoping for the opportunity to say goodbye to Asahi, but he couldn’t afford to spend that much longer at the café or else he might really miss his next class. “We wait for him to return? Or will you hand me a piece of paper and a pen for me to write down my number?”

“None of that. I have another plan.” Curious what Terushima was about to do, Daichi tilted his head and watched as the younger man walked behind the counter to open the cash register. After pulling out what must have been Asahi’s phone - which was put in a mostly translucent case with pink hearts that contrasted surprisingly nicely with the phone’s white color scheme to Daichi’s astonishment - Terushima pressed a button on the side, then tapped the screen a few times with his index finger before waving it triumphantly through the air. “I knew he forgot to change his pin. He really should be more careful about what he tells who when he goes out with us for a drink,” Terushima sniggered. “Now come on, let me help you guys reforge the bond of your friendship.” 

Daichi took the offered phone and entered his data into Asahi’s contacts. He didn’t try to pry, but as he finished saving his data and the screen jumped back to the contacts, Daichi noticed the lack of people saved under [S]. Before he could speculate any more on it, though, something rough brushed his hand. Unable to avoid wincing upon the unexpected sensation, Daichi instinctively bit on the inside of his cheek to suppress at least the embarrassing scream boiling in his throat. When he deemed the situation safe again, Daichi glanced towards the something that had been brushing his skin and found a folded piece of paper laying in the palm of his hand. 

“What’s that,” he asked gruffly, glaring at the wannabe-punk-boy who was grinning at him cheekily.

“His phone number. In case he gets too scared to call you himself.” Terushima winked. Despite the obnoxious act, Daichi’s mood lifted.

“Thanks, Terushima,” Daichi responded sincerely and stowed the folded paper in his front pockets. 

Terushima grin widened. “No problem! I’m just glad that I could help my friends!” 

Daichi reciprocated the smile easily, then turned his head towards the curtain. A glance at his watch told him that he really had to leave any moment now, but he felt awful leaving without saying anything to Asahi. Even with years of no communication laying between them, Asahi was still his friend. 

As he fought with himself over waiting just a little bit longer, just one more minute, maybe two, it slowly dawned on him that Asahi wouldn’t come back on time. Daichi sighed heavily. He wanted to be angry with his old friend, but the image of Asahi close to a heart-attack because he couldn’t find his phone drew a smile on his lips. He chuckled lightly while shaking his head over his friend’s antics. “Will you tell him goodbye from me? I’ll call him once I’m home,” he asked Terushima, who was preparing the orders for their new guests; a couple somewhere in their thirties and some middle-aged salarymen. Meanwhile, the guy with the newspaper had left a bit ago.

“Sure, no problem!” The blond-dyed waiter told him easily, leaning against the cash register he had once again stored Asahi’s phone in.

“Thanks. See you, Terushima,” Daichi said, before nodding him goodbye.

“See you too, Sawamura,” Terushima responded and returned the farewell with a wave. “Good luck with your studies!”

“Thanks.” A last time Daichi’s eyes flickered to the curtain, then he left ‘The Flower Crow’ and headed back to his life as a police trainee.

 

* * *

 

_ “He said he’d wait for you to text him. So, when you really want to see him again, you better text him soon.” Terushima had smiled at him, but something in his eyes had spelt danger. That’s what Asahi’s instincts told him. And after three years of high school with Daichi, Asahi’s instincts knew what true danger looked like. _

Asahi sighed for the x-th time that evening. They had closed the shop on time today and with everybody hurrying home early for once, Asahi was left alone to close the shop, before climbing the stairs into the second floor. While the first floor was made up mainly of their office and the changing room, the second floor was where Asahi’s family’s private area began. In the past the second floor was inhibited by his grandparents while he and his mother lived on the third floor. But after his grandfather had passed away, they had agreed it would be better for all of them if Asahi had his own floor. Meanwhile, his grandmother moved in with his mother.

Once he had entered his own realm, he slipped out of his outdoor shoes and into his indoor slippers and made his way towards his bedroom to exchange his working clothes with some sweatpants and an outworn tee, but the smell of freshly cooked rice, miso soup, baked sweet potatoes and some other dishes he couldn’t discern immediately, made him do a bee line for the kitchen. He wasn’t surprised to find his grandma there. The oldest of their little family was barely more than half Asahi’s size, but she was still fit and as stubborn as a mule. She was adamant that it was her to prepare all their meals. Especially now that Asahi’s mother took over most of the tea ceremony classes they held, as well as the paperwork, while Asahi was doing his best in managing the café.

Asahi smiled softly as he watched his grandma scurry around the kitchen, doing the last finishing touches for their meal. “Asahi-kun. You’re supposed to say something when you enter. What if I had thought you were a burglar or your sudden appearance had taken me by surprise, huh? I could have gotten a heart attack! Where are your manners?” It took all of his might not to chuckle or else the woman might misinterpret it. As if any of her listed scenarios could ever happen. The older Azumane hadn’t looked over her shoulder even once, yet she knew from the way the floorboards had creaked loudly underneath him that it had been Asahi who’d entered. Trying to fool her would be anything but an easy task, be it burglar or not. 

Yet, Asahi wasn’t an idiot. He knew better to ignore his grandma’s instructions. “Tadaima, grandma.”

“Okaeri, Asahi-kun.” She still wasn’t facing him, but from where he stood at the kitchen door, Asahi had a great view on her crinkling eyes. “Why don’t you go switch your clothes? I’ll set the table, so we can eat as soon as you’re back.” 

Agreeing to the suggestion, Asahi shuffled into his room and did as told. Being finally freed of the white dress shirt and his black tie, Asahi felt much,  _ much  _ better. A bath would have made him feel even better, but as he listened to the gurgling complains of his stomach he decided that he would do that later. Also, his grandma was as good as finished with the preparations for dinner and Asahi wasn’t the type to waste a good, warm meal for a bath he could just as well take a bit later. 

He hesitated for a moment whether to take his phone with him, but decided against it. It wasn’t that his grandmother had any special dislike towards the modern technology, but she did prefer having their meal in a familiar and relaxed atmosphere without a constant buzzing in the background. Also, if Asahi were to tell her it was Terushima texting him, she’d want to know what’s it about. And as much as Asahi loved her, he wasn’t ready for that kind of conversation. At least not while his mind still had trouble to process the events of the day. If it wasn’t for the new entrance in his contacts, Asahi would have believed everything to be a trick his ‘friends’ had played on him.

Freeing himself of thoughts like these, Asahi plugged in his phone to recharge it and walked back into the kitchen, where his grandmother had already sat down at the kitchen table; a variety of dishes spread before her for Asahi to choose from.

“Where’s mom?” Asahi asked, once had sat down and given his thanks for the meal. 

“Said something about meeting some friends. She ate earlier already and will be home late, so there’s no need to wait for her.” Right, Asahi thought, mom had mentioned something like that this morning.

“What about the lessons? Terushima mentioned there were some applications for tomorrow morning.”

“We already spoke about that. I’ll be doing them.”

Asahi’s hand that held his chopsticks froze in the middle of its task of bringing the rice to Asahi’s mouth. He didn’t really notice it, though, since he was too busy staring open-mouthed at Azumane Hanako. “Grandma, are you sure?”

“Of course, I am. Why shouldn’t I?” 

“Because… tomorrow’s Saturday. The number of tourist might be higher than usual. Are you sure you’ll be fi-”

“Oh, quit it, boy. I’m fine. My doctor said so as well. You should remember that. You were there as well. Also, by the time it’s lunch your mother will be more than ready to help me out again. And then there’s Yuuji-kun as well. There really is no need for you to worry about me, dear.” Asahi knew that and he understood it as well. Yet… after what had happened to his grandfather, it was hard for Asahi not to worry about her. She and his mother where the only family he had left. He didn’t want to lose them, too. His grandmother seemed to understand that, if her tender gaze that observed him was anything to go by. Asahi was grateful to have a family that took their time in lessening his worries, instead of disregarding them. “But thank you. I do appreciate your concerns. But please don’t worry too much about me, or else it might be your health we have to worry about instead,” his grandmother joked and Asahi couldn’t help but chuckle along with her, lightly. “Still, just to be sure and to safe you from a too early death due to high blood pressure, I’ll go to bed early today. So please be so kind so wash up the dishes after we’re done with dinner, alright?”

“Of course, grandma.” Asahi exhaled deeply. A heavy burden was lifted from his shoulders with his grandma’s compromise. Eventually, Asahi could continue eating again without the bitter taste of nausea on the back of his tongue and they switched to less heavy subjects. 

When they were finished, Azumane Kanako left the dirty dishes to Asahi and went upstairs to, hopefully, go to bed like she had promised. Asahi momentarily considered making her promise him again, but the sharp gaze she sent his way cut off all words in his throat before he had so much as a chance to utter them. Swallowing the unsaid things, Asahi wished her a good rest and watched her leave. Only then, when he couldn’t even her the staircase’s creaking under he small frame, did he commenced his task of cleaning the traces of their dinner. 

Once he was done, Asahi grabbed his phone and swapped rooms to settle in the living room. He turned the tv on, moreso as some kind of background noise than due to actual interest, and made himself comfortable on the couch. He leant backwards until his head rested on the backrest, his arms hanging loosely by his side. Asahi sighed deeply. Finally. Finally, he was able to sit down and  _ relax.  _ No chattering old ladies who were asking him for details on his love life. No shortcomings of pastries during rush hours. No teasing employees that had far too much fun intruding in his personal space. Only him, his couch, and no obligations. 

_ “He said he’d wait for you to text him… you better text him soon.” _

Asahi took a deep breath and held it. He waited until his pulse was beating louder and faster in his ears. Then he exhaled soundly, pushing all thoughts out of his body along with his breath. He repeated that a few times with his mind concentrated alone on his resting limbs and the blood rushing through his veins. 

Being able to sit down after standing and walking all day and relaxing like this, there was nothing better. Nothing, aside from one single exception: sitting down after a long working day and being able to relax  _ with food.  _ But after a more than sufficient dinner, like he just had with his grandma, being alone and freed of the obligation to form proper and sensical senses was truly the best. He really didn’t want to move again, like  _ ever _ , but while the tv wasn’t meant as anything more than a mean to safe him from oppressive silence, he didn’t want his background noise to be made up of talk show chattering, either. 

Asahi groaned lowly when his joints cracked as he was pushing himself up, so he stretched his arms first, turning his torso left and right to loosen his muscles, before he reached for the remote control laying on the low coffee table to swap through the programs. Eventually he choose a popular news network where they were discussing the recent increase of prices for dairy products. Not really paying attention to the program, just as he had meant for it to be, Asahi’s gaze wandered to a picture of his grandfather on the opposite wall, next to his grandparents’ old television. The same tv set Asahi was using right now. His grandfather’s house shrine was in the living room of the third floor, but Asahi wanted to have his own small memorial. Even after the years that had passed by now, he liked to remember the old man and thank him for everything he had done for him.

Some days were better than others, but there was never truly a day where Asahi didn’t miss his grandfather. He had been a scary-looking person, not unsimilar to Asahi himself some might say, but with a heart of gold. He had taught Asahi a lot, had always been there for him, whenever he needed him, even if he wasn’t even aware of it, yet. Asahi was proud to call himself his grandfather’s grandson and to take over his café one day. None of them had expected it to be so soon. But what’s done is done. At least Asahi still had the chance to do his best and make his family proud. Knowing that his grandfather loved him and his remaining family supported him in all his decision, gave him more comfort than anything else. Even if it wasn’t always noticeable.

Usually, the time after dinner, when it was only him and the security of his apartment, was always a time of peace for Asahi. Yet, despite being in his own premises, despite his chat with grandma, despite of doing his breathing routine that never failed to calm him, Asahi felt anything but peaceful as soon as his phone buzzed with yet another reminder of Terushima not to forget to text Daichi. Not that he needed it, really. He would probably never forget the moment he’d returned to the café front, finally having giving up finding his phone, only for Daichi to have already left. The disappointment had weighed heavy in his heart, enough to make his eyes prick and for a lump to form in his throat. He probably would have shed a few tears if it hadn’t been for Terushima. 

Sure, Asahi was owing Terushima something henceforth, but if anyone were to ask him, Asahi would say it was worth it. Because now he finally had another chance to fix his friendship with Daichi. He just wished Terushima had found another way for Asahi to do so.

_ “He said he’d wait for you to text him.” _

Why did it have to be him to do the first step? Terushima knew how bad Asahi was with these things. The insecurity of not knowing what would happen or how Daichi would react if he really did contact him was eating at Asahi since hours ago. To be honest, he hadn’t really left his phone in his bedroom because his grandma disliked it It was because Asahi was running away. He was running away from his nearing conversation with Daichi. Because if Asahi was honest with himself, which really didn’t take much, he was scared. No, terrified was the more suitable term. What if Daichi had just been polite? What if he was actually mad at him for not staying in contact but too nice to say so in front of Asahi’s customers? What if the number Daichi had given him wasn’t his real one? What if Asahi was just annoying him? Daichi did say he had a test upcoming afterall, so what if Daichi had forgotten he had told Terushima to tell Asahi that Asahi should text him and Asahi would just disturb him as Daichi was trying to study? What if Terushima had misunderstood what Daichi meant? Terushima was smart, true, but everybody makes mistakes.

With doubts like these and more swirling in his head, it took him a moment to comprehend that the phone he held pressed between his palms was vibrating. Asahi jerked at the realisation and a reflexive impulse made him throw his phone into the air. He barely avoided to let the device slip from his grasp as he plugged it out of the air and hurried to accept the call with no concern as to who was calling him.

“H-hello? Here’s Azumane Asahi?”

“Why are you saying that like it’s a question?” Asahi swore his heart stopped dead in its tracks. Tearing the phone away from him and holding it an arms length away, he stared at the display as if his ears were telling him lies. But no. Unless this was a prank call, one of his ‘friends’ toyed with his settings, or the device itself had decided to betray him as well, there was no mistaking it. His ears must be right and the voice belonged to one of his contacts saved as no other than [Sawamura Daichi]. 

“D-Daichi? N-no way!? How?” Asahi sputtered, more to himself than the receiver. When indistinct sounds responded to him, he was quick to press it back to his ear, while his unoccupied hand reached clumsily for the remote control to turn off the device. He didn’t wanting to miss anything Daichi was saying to him. Whatever the reason. Whatever the content.

“-old Terushima I’d call when I got home. Didn’t he tell you?” No, no he didn’t. Asahi couldn’t believe he had actually been thankful for Terushima’s help when in reality he had done nothing but trick him all day long. 

No, that wasn’t right. Fact was, Asahi could very well believe that exactly that had happened. After all, it wouldn’t have been the first time. And it definitely wouldn’t be the last time either.

Asahi would have taken more time to lament his pathetic life and his tendency to collect sadistic friends, but with Daichi on the other end of the call, he could hardly do that. “Ah, n-no, I’m sorry. He must have forgotten about that. We were quite busy in the afternoon.” The lie felt heavy and foul in his mouth. Asahi was glad Daichi couldn’t see him now, because he was sure the apologetic smile he put on was the farthest from what he intended it to be. But sadistic or not, Terushima was still his friend. He didn’t want Daichi to think bad of him because of this. 

“Oh no, I’m sorry. Did I call at an unsuitable time, then? I can call back somewhen else-” And just like this, Asahi forgot all about his friend. 

“No! N-no, it’s fine! You don’t have to call back- ah! Uh, uhm no, that’s not what I- I meant, there’s no need for you to hang up! I’m not busy! So, you aren’t disturbing me!” He never would, Asahi almost added. But, fortunately, Daichi spared him of that humiliation.

“Is that so. That’s good.” He couldn’t see or prove it, but somehow those words made Asahi think Daichi was smiling. Although it probably was simply wishful thinking, the hope was still there. And hope was dangerous for people like Asahi. People who believed and trusted too easily. People with a glass-heart. Slowly, it was sneaking its way deeper into his heart, like a gradually instilled poison, affecting him in the worst negative ways when he least expected it. 

Aware of the danger, Asahi pushed the traitorous hope away.

“But are you sure it’s okay for you, too? You said you had a test,” Asahi said, remembering Daichi’s words from noon.

“Eh? Oh that. No, it’s fine. I had a long day today, so it’s okay if I take some time to rest. It’s not good if I overdo it either, since it won’t do me any good of I end up overworking myself. So, don’t worry about it,” Daichi explained placatingly. 

“That’s good,” Asahi exhaled, his body relaxing at the reassurance and he leant back against the couch’s backrest. It was then that another thought came to his mind. “By the way, where are you studying? Shouldn’t you have finished university already?” Evaluating his words, Asahi’s body suddenly went rigid again. “Ah! I didn’t mean to be intrude on your privacy or imply that you weren’t hardworking or-”

“It’s fine, I know. No need to freak out like that.” Daichi laughed and while Asahi knew he was laughing at him, the sound was doing wonders in soothing his nerves. “I did. I finished studying at University. I’m studying at the Police Academy, currently.”

Oh. That wasn’t that far away. “You’re aiming to be a cop? Suits you.” He didn’t mean to say the last part out loud and Asahi’s heart stopped beating when he noticed it. He prayed Daichi would take it as nonchalantly as the rest.

Daichi hummed, dragging out the moment of on-the-edge-of-combusting for Asahi. “I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment, coming from you.” And that was it. 

Asahi made a strangled sound and his heart went on a skydiving trip that made his head spin, leaving barely any coherent thoughts.  “N-n-no! I-I mean, y-yes! Yes, it definitely is! It  _ is  _ a compliment!”

“Really? Because I remember you used to be afraid of cops, since they always looked at you like a potential threat. As if you were a delinquent whom they were about to handcuff and put to jail at the slightest sign of mischief or trouble.”

“Daichi stop remembering those things!” Asahi cried into the phone, forgetting all about being nervous and just wanting to get his feelings across. “What I meant was, you’ve always been the dependable type. Everyone trusts you. And you were always making sure everyone behaved well and didn’t get into trouble. So being a cop definitely suits you.”

“Is that so?” If Asahi had been any less agitated than he was, he might have noted the amusement in Daichi’s voice or the hints of muffled chuckling.

Instead, though, he was holding his phone with both hands, almost smashing the fragile plastic between his palms, and pressed it to his ear with a force born in desperation, as if that way, somehow, his thoughts and feelings would be magically transmitted to Daichi. “Yes!” 

“Well, then I guess that really was a compliment.” A heavy burden was lifted from Asahi’s shoulders and finally he could breathe more calmly without his heart beating rapidly, forcing him to pant.

But the lighter breathing brought a bitter taste with it. “You doubted me?!”

Daichi hummed in confirmation. “Just a bit.” 

Making a sound somewhere squeezed between a groan and a whine, Asahi let his head tip forward into his palm, covering the upper half of his face with it. As his fingertips immersed in his hair, the curls tugged behind his ear loosened and covered his hand. “I’m sorry. I knew you didn’t mean any ill. But when you got all worked up and panicked, I couldn’t help but be remembered of our high school days. I guess the nostalgia got to me, huh?” Daichi chuckled lightly and instantly, Asahi felt his mood lift. “I’m sorry for tricking you like that. And thank you. I really appreciate your honesty.”

His heart swelled with gratitude for Daichi’s sincerity, sending a sweet warmth circulating through his body, like honey melting in green tea. With its focus in his cheeks, Asahi had to swallow thickly before he could produce sounds that were actual words. “Sure. No problem.” Hoping to dispel the heat burning his cheeks, he deliberately wiped his hand over his face until it was covering his mouth. The attempt turned out to be a failure, but at least his hair was now hiding his face, giving him a flimsy semblance of protection. He felt embarrassed for how easy it was for Daichi to turn his feelings around so fast, how willing he was to forgive him, how wide his dopey smile stretched after a couple of shallow words. 

“By the way, since we’re discussing our present occupation, what’s with you and that café?” 

“Eh?” The question took Asahi off-guard. Staring at the palm that had covered his mouth only seconds ago as if it held the answer to the world’s greatest secrets, Asahi took a moment to process Daichi’s question before answering, gingerly. “Ahh, you could say it’s our family business, I guess.”

In response to his words, Daichi made a surprised sound. “Really? I never knew! Why did you never tell us?”

“That’s because it’s more of a recent development, I guess? My mom and I used to live alone at first, but we moved back here after my graduation to help out my grandparents. Things kinda progressed on their own from there on,” Asahi explained as he brushed aside his curls to rub the back of his neck. 

“So you’re like some kind of old family heir, huh. The junior manager of the Azumane family café. Not bad!” Asahi could decipher something like honest respect in Daichi’s voice, despite the joking words and soft chuckles accommodating it. A faint hue of pride coloured the inside of his chest. 

“Mhm,” more like head manager, since his grandmother had given him full rights to implement all the decisions he made, as long as he listened to her and his mom’s advice, but Asahi didn’t really think it made such a great difference. Especially, since he was still ‘under surveillance’ as Hanamatsu called it. 

“No wonder your and Terushima’s uniforms were different! Damn, I really should have noticed that earlier. What kind of cop will I be if I can’t connect the dots for observations like this?” Daichi chuckled lightly, but the tone of it sounded different than before. Kinda fake. Forced, almost. It made Asahi’s heart constrict. Daichi was  _ Daichi _ . He was strong and  _ reliable _ . Not insecure and hesitant. Daichi shouldn’t have to question himself. That was Asahi’s job.

“I-I think you’re doing fine! You’re still studying, after all, so you’re allowed to make mistakes. Doing mistakes is what helps you find out what’s right, right?” He blushed at his double use of words, but fought the unease. Daichi had been strong for them, for him, so many times. It was just fair he was strong for him this time. 

That’s what he thought and that’s what he meant to do. But when Daichi paused momentarily, it didn’t take long for Asahi to curse himself. He glanced at his grandfather’s portrait, sending him thousands of little prayers, and hoped he hadn’t sounded like an arrogant know-it-all. He hadn’t meant to offend Daichi. He had just been trying to help him out, even if he couldn’t offer him much. But ‘a bit’ was still better than ‘nothing’, right? It just wasn’t possible for their re-found friendship to fall apart so soon again simply because of a few mischosen words. Right?

By the time Daichi finally responded, Asahi was once again knee-deep in the pitch-black swamp of self-hatred and insecurity. But just like before did it take only a handful of his words to pull Asahi back into the light. “Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t give up so fast when I haven’t really started, yet. I still have lots of time and room to grow; even after I graduate from the Academy! Ultimately, a policeman’s greatest benefit is his sense for what’s right and wrong. And that can’t be gained without experience. Thank you.”

Hearing this, Asahi was positively rendered speechless with a very dominant lack of breath. “Y-you’re wel-elcome? I-I’m g-glad I could he-elp you?” With his heart beating loudly in his ears, Asahi was barely aware of himself stumbling over his words. Unfortunately, it didn’t save him from Daichi’s teasing.

Snorting at Asahi’s messy conversation skills, Daichi responded, “why are you saying that like it’s a question?”

Not knowing what else to respond with, Asahi said the one that came to his mind as easily as nothing else: “I’m sorry?”

For the duration of a heartbeat or two, there was no response. Then Daichi erupted into sudden, booming laughter. Knowing very well that Daichi laughing at his expense was his own fault, Asahi did nothing to stop him. Instead, he settled for exhaling wearily. Asahi smiled as he listened Daichi’s laughter turning into huffs and chuckles wound around breathless sorries as he tried to compose himself. Eventually, only persistent panting was left when he said, “Oh man. You really have changed, huh.”

The words startled Asahi. He had expected many things, but definitely not that. “Eh? D-did I?” He asked, moreso himself than Daichi, and blinked sluggishly at the portrait, as if his grandfather could sent him any kind of advice or hint through it. 

“Yes, totally. Of course, you’re still really hesitant and insecure, but that’s just part of your character, I guess. It’s what makes you charming.”  _ Charming _ . Daichi thought he was  _ charming _ . Asahi stared wide-eyed at the photograph now, not daring to breath as he listened to Daichi’s following words. He was trying hard to tell himself that Daichi was just teasing him again, afraid of the hope it might bring along. But the longer Asahi listened to him, the harder it got. “But you really have grown. From what I could see today, you’re capable of confronting uncomfortable situations now and your advice isn’t bad, either. Seriously, I can only see you grow even more than this. And you must get along well with your customers, too, if those women’s behaviour around you was worth anything. They seemed very fond of you. At this rate, I can actually see you becoming reliable one day, too! Geez, your employees must be really grateful to have you as their employer.”

Asahi was definitely blushing as he was briskly losing his fight against the stubborn hope instilled by Daichi’s seemingly endless flattering. If there was one thing Asahi couldn't deal with, aside from his anxiety, nervousness, children, unusual or awkward situations, stares, threats, pressure, expectations, insects, and probably a million other things, it was praise. Praise was what got to him the most, because more than anything it was the one thing Asahi thought he deserved the least. He wasn’t as reliable or trustworthy as Daichi, or as empathic as Suga, or as smart as Kiyoko. He wasn’t even as social as most of their former underclassmen. Asahi had many, too many, faults. So being flattered like this was the worst for Asahi since he felt like he deserved none of it and the other was just wasting their time or spitting out white lies. That it was Daichi only made things worse. “T-th-th-that’s n-n-not t-true a-at a-a-all! I-I’m n-nothing like that, Daichi! I only got lucky, that’s all.”

“Really? But you’re already their boss, despite your own young age. Being able to lead a café like that must mean you’re pretty amazing, mustn’t it?” 

“I-it’s really not that impressive though. It’s not as if any of it is my own work. I’m just working with the means I was provided with.”

“Not yet, maybe. But you haven’t run it in the ground so far, either, so I’m sure you can make something good out of what you were given.”

“I can’t tell whether you’re praising or insulting me.” Despite having hoped for it, Asahi didn’t truly believe that his words would distract Daichi. But when they actually caused Daichi to laugh, Asahi saw a new light within the dark tunnel of one-sided praise and embarrassment. Not willed to miss this chance, Asahi jumped at the offered opportunity to change topics. “How are your studies going?” 

Daichi’s laughter subsided to raspy chuckles as he responded. “Don’t tell me you’re still worried you’re disrupting me?”

He wasn’t. Not really. Okay, maybe a bit. When he was honest with himself, Asahi had to admit that he probably would never be able to truly believe Daichi actually enjoyed spending time with him. It wasn’t what had made him mention it, at least he didn’t think so, but he didn’t want to risk Daichi jumping back to uttering nonsensical praise, either, and it had been the first thing that had come to his mind. It wasn’t a perfect choice, but what else was? He just had to do this right. “W-well.... It’s a possibility, right?”

Daichi sighed, noticeably sobering up. “Asahi.” His voice was dripping with seriousness and dominance. Asahi knew that voice, remembered it well. It was Daichi’s Captain voice. The one he used before matches to motivate the team or to pull them out of desperation’s claws when a match didn't quite go as hoped. The one that commanded unfailing attention and obedience with no room for complaints. Asahi automatically stiffened at the call and straightened his back, ready to follow orders to avoid any possible negative consequences. “We might not have seen each other in a while, but you’re still my friend. You’re  _ not _ a nuisance.”

Asahi couldn’t believe his ears at first. Was it really possible for it to be truth? Was this really not a dream? 

Not quite sure, Asahi pinched his arm, but nothing changed, no rift in space or anything. 

It was real. His heart bloomed like a flower bathed in spring’s sun after months of being held prisoner by winter’s darkness. 

“Thanks… that really means a lot to me.” An easy understatement. It was everything he had ever wanted to hear. True or not, Daichi had said Asahi  _ meant something  _ to him. Those few and simple words meant the world to him.

“No trouble! It’s really nice talking like this again. Reminds me of old times.”

“Mhm, me too.” Asahi’s heart beat loudly in his chest, but for once he didn't mind. He didn't mind his stupid smile or warm cheeks, either.

“Apropo old times. Terushima - what’s up with him working at your place anyway? - mentioned Noya and Tanaka. How are they doing?”

“Oh, you see…” And with that their conversation covered several more topics revolving around their former teammates’ current situation. Like Noya and Tanaka dating, Saeko’s new bar, Hinata and Tsukishima being expected to be soon invited to spend the trainings camp with the national team, Kageyama already playing for them, and what the others of the bunch were up to. There were some things Daichi had never heard of before, so Asahi had to tell him in all details what was going on as the other’s team captain habits revealed themselves and he showed concern towards their friends’ wellbeing. At other times it was Asahi who barely knew anything and had to be updated, although he was mostly fine with whatever Daichi told him and didn’t ask many question.

What left the biggest impression on Asahi was Daichi avoiding to talk about Suga. Every time it seemed like their conversation was heading that way or Asahi was even about to grace it, Daichi changed topics. Obviously Asahi was curious about the reason for that, but even he could tell Daichi didn’t want to talk about it, so he let it be. He, too, had his own secrets as well, after all, so respecting Daichi’s borders was something he was more than willed to do. Asahi was completely satisfied with listening to the other’s calming voice, anyway. 

Until Daichi mentioned something Asahi really didn’t want to hear.

“Oh my, look at the time. It’s really getting late now.” Asahi’s gaze wandered to the wall clock without any conscious effort where it got hitched by the uncomfortable angle of hour hand and minute hand. For a moment, all he saw was the angle, unable to understand why it gave him such a strong sense of unease. Then his gaze tardily concentrated on the numbers they pointed to. He winced when he saw the time. It was almost midnight already.

Asahi’s first autoresponse for others’ discomfort was to apologise. So he did exactly that. “Ah! I’m sorry! I was keeping you up! You must be awfully tired,” he proclaimed frantically as he jumped to his feet to bow.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Daichi placated, his tone tinted with a slightly sharp edge that made them sound somewhat forced. Asahi felt even worse. Whatever Daichi had said before, after being held back this late, despite having announced priorly he had assignments to do, Daichi had to be unhappy with him. There was no way he wasn’t. And they didn’t even make up a date for another phone call, either. There was no way he still had the patience to agree with that now. Asahi’s head lowered even further as the depressive thoughts filled his head. He was so busy following their ominous call, that he almost missed Daichi’s next words. “-n’t worry about me. I’m not the one with appointments tomorrow.”

“Eh?” Asahi’s body and mind froze. Something about Daichi’s words made no sense, but Asahi couldn’t define what.

“Don’t you have to work? You said your café opens on Saturdays, too, right?” Suddenly Asahi was flooded with memories of a certain forgotten object. That little occurrence had completely slipped his mind. 

Roughly estimating how much time he had left till he had to get up, Asahi squeaked. “You’re right! Hanamaki forgot his keys! I gotta get up earlier than usual to open the shop for him! I’m so sorry, Daichi!” In this case, ‘earlier than usual’ meant he had to open the door at 4am so that their baker could prepare the dough for the morning rush pastries. And while, theoretically, he could go to bed again, afterwards, he doubted the foxy baker would let him do that. Especially not when Terushima had told him about Daichi’s and his after-work promise. And Asahi was sure he did.

Daichi chuckled. “What for? For creating more work for yourself? I’m not the one who will have to work with lack of sleep tomorrow, so worry about yourself first.” Daichi was right. 

But that didn’t mean it kept Asahi from loading himself with them. “But-”

“It’s okay. I told you: ‘Don’t worry about it’.” Asahi was certain Daichi must have some kind of psychic abilities. How else did he always manage to ease Asahi’s concerns with seemingly no effort at all?

“Okay.” Asahi hesitated momentarily. Then he asked himself, ‘If not now, then when?’ Gathering whatever confidence he could find, he inhaled deeply before asking the question that had been bothering him throughout their phone call. “Will you call tomorrow again?”

Daichi hummed. Was it possible that he was actually considering it? “I can try? I’m not sure if I can really make it tomorrow, since I got a few things to catch up on. But how about Sunday? You said you closed earlier then, right?” Asahi was positively beaming. The response was better than anything he had imagined.

“Yes! We close at 4pm. Although, I will be home a couple hours later, since we gotta do cleaning. Oh, and we also need to do some last inspections for the market on Tuesday, so that we’ll know what to get...” Asahi trailed off, roughly estimating what else he had to do on Sunday as he rubbed his neck. 

“Ah, that’s fine for me. When will you be home, then? A rough time is fine, too.” Asahi hummed lowly in response, thinking over the question, but Daichi spoke up again before he could actually answer it. “Ah, wait, I got a better idea. Just text me when you’re done.”

“Eh?” Asahi perked up at that. Instantly his head was filled with thousands of worst-case-scenarios.

“And don’t hesitate about disturbing my studies, okay? If I really don’t want to be disturbed I’ll just mute it. But seeing as I’ll have the whole weekend for my assignments, I’m certain a bit of distraction will be more than welcome.”

“A-are you really su-”

“Yes, Asahi, I’m sure. Stop worrying so much.” 

“Coming from you that doesn’t sound very believable.” He didn’t really mean to say it out loud, but when Daichi laughed at that, Asahi felt a tiny bit proud of himself for making it happen.

“I guess I do am kind of a hypocrite. Oh well. Can’t help it when it comes to my friends.”  _ Friends.  _ The smile on Asahi’s face fell. It was just a term. A term Daichi had used before. But somehow the term didn’t feel as reassuring now as it did earlier. Being friends was a good thing, wasn’t it? In the first place, reforging their friendship was what their phone call was all about, right? Then why did his heart clench so painfully? 

Why did it still hurt so much when the whole time Asahi had _ known better already _ ?

It didn’t seem like Daichi took any note of Asahi’s misery, but that didn’t mean it made it any easier for Asahi. He hummed noncommittally, forcing himself to speak to avoid concentrating to much on his shattered heart. “I guess so. I’m sorry Daichi, but you were right. It is getting late. So why don’t we stop here now and I’ll text you on Sunday, after work, like you suggested?” 

It wasn’t that he wanted to stop talking to Daichi, because he really didn’t. He wanted to keep listening to him talk, even if it meant getting no sleep at all. But if he didn’t stop now then he feared he would reach his limit sooner than he was prepared for. This was exactly why he was afraid of giving in to hope. It was a nice feeling as long as it was there and fed regularly, but once its source stopped nourishing it, it would backstab you without hesitation. He had been careless. And now he had to pay the price for it. Asahi knew that and he was fine with it, since it was his own stupid mistake. 

That didn’t mean he wanted Daichi to find out.

“Eh- Ah, okay, sure. Make sure you shower and dry your hair properly before you go to bed, okay?”

Asahi chuckled dryly, despite the gaping hollow pit in his core. Daichi was dense at times, but he never stopped worrying about his  _ friends _ . And that’s exactly why he meant so much to Asahi. “Yes, Daichi, I will. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”   
There was a  _ click  _ in the line. Then the static was gone, just like Daichi’s voice, and Asahi was left all alone in his darkened apartment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I did not plan to end this on such a ... sad note, nor did I plan to friend-zone Asahi, but it happened and I like, hehe~ :p
> 
> In case anyone wants to talk to me about rare pair or the other characters situation in this story: Hit me up   
> [here!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/dontmindmedear) (Please not literally, I'm a weak and innocent girl, kay?)
> 
> OH YEAH BEFORE I FORGET!! If any of you find inconsistencies or mistakes, don't hesitate to tell me!! (Like, guys, please. There were 7 month between Chapter 2 and 3 and I'm allergic to re-reading me own stuff. So, please, tell me if you find sth that doesn't make sense. there's a high possibility that's an actual mistake on my part and not you misinterpreting/misreading it :3)


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